Sunday, March 20, 2011

Daffodil Blogorama 2011

Narcissus Nirvana returns, with the second annual Daffodil Blogorama (a round-up of blog posts about daffodils) and a daffodil notecube giveaway from First Daffodils 2011.


First, the giveaway


The daffodil notecube giveaway is courtesy of First Daffodils 2011 -- a photo blog that chronicles daffodils coming up all over the world each spring.


The blogger makes daffodil note cubes with William Wordsworth's poem on the sides, and she is kindly donating five note cubes as prizes, one each for five lucky readers.


Enter by going to the First Daffodils 2011 site and looking at the photos. Then return here and leave a comment at the bottom of this post. Tell me which photo you like best and why. If you have trouble leaving a comment here, you can also enter with a comment on my Facebook Wall


Five winners will be randomly chosen from the comments. Contest closes April 8 at midnight PDT. The giveaway is open to anyone in the world with postal delivery.


The daffodil note cubes are reasonably priced and make perfect gifts for daff-loving friends. And Mother's Day. Just saying. You can purchase the note cubes via a link at the First Daffodils site.


News from the annual meeting of the American Daffodil Society

Skilled photographer and award-winning daffodil grower Kirby Fong generously agreed to share photos from the annual show, held last week in Jackson, Missippi. Many thanks, Kirby!


Gold Ribbon for the best standard daffodil in the show. 'Angel Face' 3W-YYO
exhibited by Steve Hampson.



White Ribbon is for the best set of three standard daffodils. The winner was 'Loch Lundie' 2Y-O from a collection of twelve sets of three. Our photographer, Kirby Fong, was the exhibitor.



Bender Award for the best standard daffodil hybridized by the exhibitor. This "challenge class" is one of the few that accepts flowers grown in glass houses instead of outdoors. The winner was seedling 04-214 6W-W exhibited by Larry Force.

Daffodil Blogorama

The Daffodil Blogorama tour begins in California and moves East around the globe. Click on the name of the blog to see a daffodil story:

* Sue Langley profiles 'Ice Wings' in her Sierra Foothill Garden.


* I'm on the red carpet at Daffodil Planter with 'Misty Glen' as she wins the Wister Award.


* Claire Splan at An Alameda Garden explains how to propagate daffodil bulbs by scaling.


* Jayne Locas and the Paradise Garden Club planted 90,000 daffodils. See their photos at Daffodils Across the Ridge and scroll down that site to read Jayne's inspiring story "To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow."


* Mississippi blogger Gail at Yardflower celebrates her late narcissi.


* Frances from Fairegarden in Tennessee offers a controversial technique for dividing daffodils.


* The Canadian sister act: Helen and Sarah of Toronto Gardens report on the daffodil's role as a symbol for the Canadian Cancer Society.


* Tyla reveals the true story of 'King Alfred' at All About Daffodils in Alabama.


* Trailblazing garden blogger, Kathy Purdy of Cold Climate Gardening in upstate New York, has stories about her heirloom narcissus.


*Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of Washington Gardener magazine, showcases early daffodils (including 'Katie Heath') at Washington Gardener.


* Maryland flower photographer Patty Hankins at Beautiful Flower Pictures shows a group of tazetta narcissus photos.


* Janet is The Queen of Seaford in South Carolina, where she's planting a new garden with daffodils.


* Mary "Moosey" is in a category all her own. A pioneer in garden blogging, she was sharing online stories from Moosey's Country Garden in New Zealand before the word blog was invented. She posts about recycling unwanted daffodils from other gardens. Will she be able to resist buying bulbs? Find out.


Thanks to all the bloggers for sharing their work!


Ready to experience your first daffodil show?


There are shows going on all over the country this spring.


Plan to visit Baltimore for the 2012 national show. Daffodil questions? Check the American Daffodil Society website for answers. For the ultimate in daffodil fun and information, join the American Daffodil Society and a daffodil society near you.


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19 comments:

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Well Charlotte, I thought that the Daffodil photos were nice, liked the ones with the bicycles and the sheep. BUT-- the one that really blew me away was the one of wooded area O2 Arena in Greenwich, London....with the dark trees. Really interesting photo.

Thanks for doing the daffodil round up again this year.

Robert Bornstein said...

Great post! In honor of Spring I will share with my popular Facebook garden page: Robert's Tropical Paradise Garden. Please like the page and share as well.

Unknown said...

I really liked the photo from Greenwich, London too. All those daffs among the trees looked so striking!

Britta said...

Wow - what a beautiful collection! Thanks!
(Makes me rethink if I should really give up "www.gardeninginhighheels.blogspot.com - but you'll find e.g. the crocuses now on youarewittyandpretty)

mss @ Zanthan Gardens said...

My favorite is "Cornish Daffs". The composition is gorgeous with the bands of yellow flowing over the hills. Some of the others seemed too contrived.

Fairegarden said...

Well done, Charlotte! The cheering sight of all the daffodils sings out spring to me. The newness of Sure Sign Of Spring is my pick of the photos. Anticipation....

Frances

plaisanter said...

Easy answer for me! My favorite was "A Pedersen in London (No. 11) - Spring has arrived". Terrific lighting! I appreciate the warms reds of the bike with the cooler yellows of the daffodils, and I like the hidden contrast of a transportable inorganic item with the organic non-locomotive flowers. Hahaha- that was so inarticulate, really can't express my thoughts now, probably need more coffee!

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed the blooming daffodil pictures, especially the 02 Daffodil in Greenwich, London. I see many others liked it too. The ones of daff's just emerging like that of 'Sure Sign of Spring~Feb 12'really spoke to me and that of new beginnings and possibilities. Thanks for doing this blog Charlotte, Jayne recommended it to me.

Angela said...

I had a hard time deciding between these two:

Bicycle:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/egf/5527225427/
London City Street:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samkirk9/5543392536/

What a fun post! My daffodils just started opening today.

Unknown said...

I loved them all but my favorite would be The Carpet of Daffodils in Cornwall UK. The contrast of the dark trees and the setting sun is fabulous.

Jan said...

My favorite is Painshill Park Daffodils in Surrey, England...it just has a really cool 'feel' to it and I'd like to find myself transported there and run through the field, and climb the trees;-)

Nancy T said...

I like he sheep and daffodils in the rain at West Sussex. One reason is because it reminds me of the sheep and daffodils we saw in South Island New Zealand!

Unknown said...

OF course the fields of daffodils were very impressive but I have to say I really liked the City Daffodils in London because it showed in even a bleak setting a simple box of daffodils in bloom can brighten the setting.

tina said...

I may be too late but I did a post on my daffodils about a week ago. Found here: http://tinaramsey.blogspot.com/2011/03/daffodil-love-in-tiger-gardens.html

I love those daffodils!

sonenschein said...

My favorite photo is "Fields of Gold in Nottingham" ~ It is as if one has discovered Mother Nature's secret garden....unseen by the rest of the world.

Wonderful!

Unknown said...

I have been following First Daffodils since 2008 and I look forward to it almost as much as seeing my own daffodils bloom. It was very,very difficult to pick a favorite from all the awesome pics. "Pedersen and Daffodils in Hyde Park London" is the kind of picture every photographer hopes to create at least once so that one is my reluctant pick.

Paula Jo @ Home Decor | Garden Decor said...

Very hard decision. All of the picture's were good and beautiful. My pick after going through them several times was the daffodil's and ducks. Some how this made me think of Spring and Easter time. The color of the daffodil's against the color of the ducks brought out the beauty of the daffodil's. Thanks for sharing such lovely pics of daffodils.

Kathy said...

I also liked the O2 Daffodils in Greenwich, London. Thank you for having me on the Blogarama and for introducing me to this daffodil photography site.

Petalpatch said...

A Carpet of Daffodils in Cornwall, UK wins my vote! I scrolled down through the photos and notes ooo-ing and ahh-ing, but when I got to the top of this pic I began to become mesmerized… first by the streaming light, then by the saturated greens along the trunks, and then by the cast of shadows on the grass among which the small yellow dots were gathered only to grow and to separate. I advanced quite slowly taking it in… my eye began frantically to hunt for each yellow 'star' to stand out. Right as I reached the bottom of the photo I was well-rewarded… a most exquisite composition and capture of a beautiful subject!