With the recent communications about green daffodils here, I have realized that I owe a report to some friends here on Daffnet.
Late last summer I made a plea on Daffnet which was answered by some of you who gave me some advice about a presentation I was preparing. Somewhat earlier I had been asked to enter an educational display about daffodils in a garden show to be presented by the local club with which I have become active. I quickly assented while pointing out that there would be no live matter around to build such a display. Not to worry, I was urged. I followed through, made the entry while incorporating some of the advice received here, and the show was a success. The good news is that I came in third in the first such competition I ever entered. The bad news is that I also came in last.
The theme of the show was The Wizard of Oz, and the subtheme for the educational exhibits was The Emerald City. In preparation, including word by word study of rules as tedious and as inscrutable as those from the ADS for intermediate daffodils, an idea came upon me. Green daffodils! That topic was perfect for this entry, providing a base from which to launch a foray of daffi-trivia sure to captivate the excellent gardeners entering who would appreciate learning more about the spring beauties which most of them only knew in their pedestrian 2 Y-Y form. Yes, a perfect topic for Flowers in The Emerald CIty.
I won’t go into the hour(s?) or so that I spent planning and executing the display. A mediocre photo accompanies this posting, and from it, you can appreciate that I have very little artistic talent or sense of proportion or organization. But, as would be expected from a retired math teacher, the details and precision were unimpeachable. I will share one of the items I prepared, a ring of green eyes.
In the display you’ll see photos and captions containing general daffodil info familiar to everyone here, then a panel mostly dedicated to green eyes, one of my favorite pursuits in this hobby of ours. The last panel highlighted daffs with G elsewhere in the code, including emphasis on N. viridiflorus, M. Lima, and cultivars of folks who appear here regularly. You’ll see a few Daffseek pics and familiar items on the desktop, as well as a Broomhilda cartoon in which she says, “It’s not easy being green.”
At the lower right of the third panel was the caption, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” If one peeked just behind that panel, one would have found photos of Manuel Lima, Harold Koopowitz, and Bob Spotts.
I wish I could have had a bloom of Emerald Empire or Brierglass, of N. viridiflorous, of Mesa Verde, or even Verdant Jet. Then my entry would have competed better with the second place entry of gorgeous hydrangeas and even with the winning entry of large leaved hostas. Of course, the winning entry was that of a widely known hybridizer of hostas. I’m sure that the fact that he is president of the sponsoring club had nothing to do with the judging.
George Dorner
