Daffodils

I didn’t put in the big collections that I normally do at the shows, and starting at the Richmond, VA show, it was still early for my garden. I had some really nice Pops Legacy 1W-Y in my garden this year and they showed well. At Richmond, my Division 2 Collection won the Lavendar Ribbon as the best collection of five in the show. The five were Barbary Gold, Bryanston, Demand, Geometrics and Honeybourne. In that same show, N. cyclamineus won, for Fran, the miniature Gold Ribbon as the best miniature in the show. Two of my seedlings won the Rose Ribbons for the best standard and the best miniature seedlings in the show.

Bryanston is an old favorite of mine that I have learned the art of how to show it to get the most from that flower. It blooms too small and just a little “spiky.” You always take a chance that the flower will get nicked or torn when left in the open, however, if you don’t pick Bryanston, it will get much larger and rounder with age. It’s not as refined as some of the newer varieties, however it has flat petals, and has staying power and is in bloom for a long time. Barbary Gold and Demand from that Lavendar Ribbon have been good steady performers for me over the years that I have had them.

Geometrics 2W-Y was another top performer for me this year. I have a “cookie cutter” bloom from Geometrics with each bloom ready for the show. I entered them in three different shows and was satisfied with the results. In addition, there were a number of crosses I made using Geometrics as both pollen and see parent. Honeybourne 2W-Y, also in the Lavendar Ribbon, is a wonderful show flower. The color code doesn’t really give it justice, but I assume its coded as close as the human can adjust the color. Once you raise one, you will know it’s name as far as you can see it.

At the WDS show this year, I found myself in competition with Bill Pannill, again, and again coming away with red ribbons. I feel that if I can ever learn to beat Bill, tete-e-tete, than I will have become a top shower in daffodils. The Washington Daffodil Show is always very competitive with the best showers from the region and neighboring regions putting their skills and daffodils on display. Winning at WDS is like winning at a Nation show, you have to be both lucky and very good.

At the Morristown, NJ show the judges must have felt my pain as they restored my faith in my ability to show daffodils. Fran and I received our first ever Watrous Award for miniature daffodils, as well as the miniature rose ribbon for one of my seedlings. We received an award for the Maroon Ribbon and a few others. However, I miss-labeled a Conestoga and missed out of the Throckmorton Ribbon with a note from the judges about how good the overall collection was – sans the label on Conestoga.

At the Chambersburg, PA, show, my faith in myself continued to recover from Washington as Fran and I were awarded a nice fist full of ribbons. My stupid mistake caused me to miss out on a Quinn Award, however, I went home satisfied with the ribbons that I did take. Just so you will know, it’s easy to make a mistake on an entry when you are entering about 200 flowers in less than three hours. I really got a kick out of seeing my Division 9 collect come within an eyelash of winning the Best Collection of Five in the show. I was handicapped during the entire voting for best in show, best seedling, best collection of five in the show because my entries were in contention all the way to the end. I do know that I won the best standard seedling in the show. Now much else I remember.

The weather was normal during this season with the coolness lasting until the very end. That kept the flowers from “frying” on the stem and allowed me to show my best flowers all the way to the last show. Actually, I could have put on some good displays two weeks after the season for me was officially over. I love it when the daffodils keep blooming and I can keep enjoying them into May.