Bright and Beautiful

At this time of uncertainty, when the human world is fearful and closing in, the daffodils are at their most beautiful. Bright with sunshine and such serenity, they dance in the breeze, welcoming the first of the big bumblebees.

Wild Daffodils around a Mulched Sapling

Wild Daffodils around a Mulched Sapling

With their soft creamy petals and bright lemon yellow trumpets, these are the native English species, not garden cultivars.  We buy them in as bulbs each October for families to plant.   You’ll see in this photo how they show up beside the rich composted bark that surrounds the memorial tree behind.

Last weekend we mulched three quarters of the young trees onsite, helped by a marvellous team of volunteers.  You can find photographs on our Instagram feed.  With the stronger folk shovelling the composted bark into bulk bags, then shifting the bags around the site, others were filling trugs from the bulk bags and encircling each little sapling.  Not only the memorial trees, but many of the structural planting was mulched as well, helping to suppress competing vegetation (mostly grass) and keeping precious moisture in the soil.  Of course, at times it was a matter of tiptoeing amongst the daffodils …

Many thanks to all the wonderful volunteers.  Thanks too to the daffodils and all those who have planted them each autumn over the past ten years or more.  Their sunlight lifts our hearts every spring, and this spring we really need their beauty, perhaps more than ever.