Double Daff

Day 188: Usually first to open, my double daffodils in the front flower bed lagged behind the narcissus by a few days, and for their tardiness were punished by snow, hail and rain alternately. They are resilient, though, and even if beaten down by the weight of snow will pop back up as soon as it melts, perhaps slightly muddied or tattered, but as strong as ever. Daffodils and narcissus have a reputation for being "deer-proof" and indeed, while the hooved varmints gobbled my hyacinths and crocuses from above and the moles attacked the bulbs from below, they left these bloomers untouched. Several times now, I've thinned the bed, tossing the excess into the narrow strip of woodland along the west edge of my property where they have taken root without any further encouragement and now volunteer on a regular basis. If you want reliable colour in your spring garden, plant daffodils!