West Cornwall Winter Landscape: Daffodil Fields, originally uploaded by Tim’sSeaGlimpses.
West Cornwall fields have daffodils! Tim’sSeaGlimpses comments about this January 14, 2012 image: “A really early season in west Cornwall so far this year. The far west of Cornwall has many tiny daffodil meadows/fields, many hidden away from roads. With a careful choice of varieties in our comparatively mild climate (compared to the rest of the UK), the season can run from mid-Dec to March.”
Photographer webeyer tells us about this 10 January 2012 image taken in Colyton Devon. Colyton has a number of clusters of Daffs coming up and/or blooming already. Last year I saw the first beginnings (stalks) on the 26th Jan so we’re a bit ahead this year.
Daffodils? In January??, originally uploaded by Dendroica cerulea.
085, originally uploaded by pinkjay
With some daffodils starting to come out months ahead of schedule, many of us are wondering if there is a need to protect our daffodils from the winter if and when it arrives. We contacted Scott Aker, head of horticulture at The United States National Arboretum and asked him about daffodils and cold weather. Thanks for this very interesting and useful information, Scott.
Question: If the daffodils have started to come out, should we cover them?
Answer: It’s not a bad idea to cover flower beds where bulbs are planted with a loose mulch during the winter AFTER the soil has frozen or at least has gotten as cold as it is going to. Loose mulch materials like straw, dry leaves, or boughs of Christmas trees are often used for this purpose. The objective is to insulate the soil from wild fluctuations in temperature. Snow is an even better insulator, but since that is lacking in much of the country, mulch will help to prevent rapid temperature fluctuations that might be harmful. At this point, it would apply to the sprouting foliage mostly, since flower scapes don’t emerge until soil temperatures are much warmer.
In looking at your Facebook page, those who already have blooms seem to be from rather mild regions (Cornwall, Southwest US, and Southeast US), so I don’t think they have to worry about the kind of intense cold that would harm the blossoms. Keep in mind that they only last for a week or two, so they will begin to deteriorate, particularly if the weather is hot or if there is a lot of wind and rain that may damage the blossoms or speed their senescence. A loose mulch may help gardeners in more northerly climates to prolong the life of daffodils that are already in bloom, but there’s not much that can be done if temperatures go below 22-25° — some injury to the blossoms is unavoidable.
Not yet! Not yet!, originally uploaded by Art Drauglis
Question: If it’s foliage that is showing during these early weeks, will the daffodils probably be OK (sometimes a little frost damage but the flowers will be fine)?
Answer: The tips of the leaves may be yellowed or dried up and brown if we have some really cold weather before spring really arrives, but this usually only affects the very tips of the leaves and the damage is minimal.
Question: Will the foliage bloom only when the temperature reaches a certain level?
Answer: The blooming time is a complex thing that is controlled primarily by temperature—both hours of chilling, and the soil temperature after the bulbs have received sufficient chilling. In the autumn, bulbs grow roots into the soil and then the bulbs must be chilled before they will bloom. Chilling is generally at soil temperatures below 40°F, and bulbs will not bloom at all if they do not receive enough hours of chilling, which is different for each cultivar. On average, fifteen weeks is sufficient. Many bulbs, including most Narcissus, naturally begin to grow leaves before the chilling requirement is met. Generally, the leaves only grow to one or two inches above the soil and remain at this level throughout the rest of the chilling period. The more time in chilling conditions, the faster the development of the flower scapes when soil temperatures do increase in the spring.
Question: If the daffodils have bloomed, are they at risk of damage if the temperature gets down to 25-26 degrees?
Answer: Yes, this is the case if the flowers are fully open. Some cultivars can go to even colder temperatures if they are not fully opened.
Is Spring Really Around the Corner?, originally uploaded by Sienna62
Daffodils at Night, originally uploaded by M.V. Jantzen.
Photographer M.V. Jantzen tells us about this April 1, 2011 image: Flowers (and a bare tree) along the Potomac shore, in Lady Bird Johnson Park. Arlington, Virginia.
Daffodil copse, originally uploaded by nickshepherd.
Photographer nickshepherd tells us about this March 23, 2011 image: Daffodils are regularly grown in South east Cornwall and I had watched this field begin to come to life a few weeks before I took the shot. Although the scale and colour of the daffodils is overwhelming, it does not always translate into a good photograph unless some form of focal point is available. Prior to taking the shot, I walked around the field and found some trees sitting on the horizon. With the ingredients in place, I took the shot the next day early in the morning when the light was softer. One thing that is “lost” in the shot was the wonderful scent from this particular species of daffodil…it was almost intoxicating!
Photographer’s website: www.nickshepherd.com
Daffodils by night I, originally uploaded by Hugo Baptista.
Photographer Hugo Baptista tells us about this March 30, 2011 image: The first daffodils are now mature. Pity the one in the foreground is a bit blurred. that’s what you get with 148 sec exposure + slight breeze on subject.
See two earlier photos of these daffodils below.
Daffodils at Kew Gardens, originally uploaded by Laura Nolte.
Photographer Laura Nolte tells us about this March 23, 2011 image: The daffodils at Kew are in full bloom now, there’s a stunning carpet on the Broad Walk; but not just there, they’re growing everywhere around the gardens.
See below for Magnolias and Daffodils taken the same day at Kew Gardens.
Magnolia Trees and Daffodils at Kew Gardens, originally uploaded by Laura Nolte.
Photographer Laura Nolte tells us about this March 23, 2011 image: The daffodils at Kew are in full bloom now, there’s a stunning carpet on the Broad Walk; but not just there, they’re growing everywhere around the gardens. The area around the magnolia trees is my favourite part of the gardens at the moment–the colours of the cream and pink magnolias and the yellow daffodils look so pretty together. It’s a very lovely spot.
110320_036_Naturalized daffodils.jpg, originally uploaded by Alan Buckingham.
Gardening writer and photographer Alan Buckingham tells us about this March 21, 2011 image: It’s a shot of an area of woodland carpeted with naturalized daffodils (cultivar unknown). The wood is part of Painshill Park in Surrey, England, an estate created in the eighteenth century by Charles Hamilton. Following his Grand Tour of Europe in 1725-7, Hamilton deliberately set about acquiring land and creating a “landscape” of ornamental pleasure grounds, lakes, open parkland, an Alpine valley, a grotto, and a vineyard. His ambition was to recreate his experiences in his own backyard, so to speak. The Park is full of artfully placed follies, included a Gothic temple and tower, a ruined abbey, a Temple of Bacchus, and a Turkish warrior chief’s tent.
Alan’s website is here at alanbuckingham.com.
Run rabbit, run rabbit , run run run., originally uploaded by mafleen.
Photographer mafleen tells us about this March 24, 2011 image: These rabbits live in the city center, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, near the Civic Center. Still wild and not at all domesticated. There are always nice plantings in the park round the building and traffic doesn’t seem to phase them.
Copyright 2011 Kevin and Seri Crawley
Photographers Kevin and Seri Crawley tell us about this March 2011 image: Always together, this pair are almost impossible to expose properly due to the colour schemes involved. The BlackEast Indies Duck is a most beautiful animal – and its plumage is actually many subtle shades of green.
Moonlit daffodils against cityscape (uncorrected), originally uploaded by Hugo Baptista.
Photographer Hugo Baptista has made available the original of the Moonlit Daffodils photo taken on March 22, 2011. It’s a dream team of “before” and “after” photos.
Here’s the information about the photo: Taken in Park ‘t Loo, Voorburg, The Netherlands. ISO 160 – 293 sec. – f22.
Moonlit daffodils against cityscape, originally uploaded by Hugo Baptista.
Photographer Hugo Baptista tells us about this March 22, 2011 image: Moonlit daffodils against cityscape. Taken in Park ‘t Loo, Voorburg, The Netherlands. ISO 160 – 293 sec. – f22.
Farm Pond with Daffodils–Webb’s Chapel Road: Crisp, Edgecombe County, NC, originally uploaded by EdgecombePlanter.
Photographer EdgecombePlanter tells us about this March 16, 2011 photo: It is on a rural road in southern Edgecombe County (which is in northeastern North Carolina. The road is Webb’s Chapel Road. It is a small pond right beside the road that the Macclesfield Volunteer Fire Department uses for their fire truck tanks. Evidently, the fire department members must have planted all of these bulbs, which really caught my eye today. I had really never seen this place before, and I was born and raised in this county only about 7 miles away. It is quite a pretty place! I don’t know much about the variety of daffodil this may be, but it is a pretty common one around here and is often used for naturalizing and spreading.
Photographer LordOnOne tells us about this March 14, 2011 photo: The photo was taken just west of Horsham, West Sussex in the UK. The bicycle is a Specialized Stumpjumper 29er.
IMG_0362, originally uploaded by JamesDavid2007.
Photographer JamesDavid2007 tells us about this March 18, 2011 image: The photo was taken in Hyde Park in London, in the evening after a day of rain, when the sun was slipping down through the area of sky between the clouds and the horizon. The daffodils in central London are ahead of those in the suburbs and those in Hyde Park were looking particularly splendid in the evening sun.
The photo was taken with the camera on a monopod held high above my head, on a ten second timer, pointing in the direction of the bike and hoping the framing came out OK.
The bike is a Pedersen, designed about 120 years ago by a Dane, Mikael Pedersen.
Sally’s Walk, originally uploaded by Dave Angood.
Photographer Dave Angood tells us about this March 19, 2011 image: The photo was taken today in a Village called “Merton” in the county of Norfolk here in the UK. This walk is called “Sallys Walk” and is about 1/2 a mile through some beautiful woodland. The daffodils have been a part of this walk for many years. The rumor has it that the old Lord Walsingham had a fall out with the locals along time ago and randomly dispersed thousands of daffodil bulbs all around Merton village.
The Village has the daffodils everywhere including the village green. Here is some history of the Village.
Sheep and Daffodils in the rain, originally uploaded by Lord Cogsby.
Photographer Barry Fielder (Lord Cogsby) tells us about this March 18, 2011 image: [Came upon] an attractive hollow with Sheep Jackdaws and Daffodils beside my car, the place is Rock Lane, Washington, West Sussex. it sits at the base of the South Downs near an ancient site called Chanctonbury Ring 3 miles away as the Crow flies!
The City – Empty, originally uploaded by SamKirk9.
Photographer SamKirk9 tells us about this March 20, 2011 image: The picture was taken in the Square Mile, City of London. I was on a photography tour and just liked the double yellow lines curving slightly on an empty city street. It was a Sunday and usually this street would be very busy with city workers. The daffodils just added something and brought the two yellows together. I usually take nature pics so this one was a bit of a departure from my usual style.
2652 More daffodils, originally uploaded by andy linden.
Photographer Andy Linden tells us about this March 16, 2011 image: The photo was taken in the same place as the photos in your previous blogs from 2008 and 2009. It was taken in Greenwich, London, next to the O2 indoor arena, which is the largest indoor concert venue in the UK and will be used as one of the venues for the 2012 Olympic Games. The trees and daffodils were planted when the O2 was built in 1999, as part of an overhaul of the land around it. This winter was harsh in London, so the daffodils are out late this year, as opposed to 2008, when they came out in February.
Dissin’ Daffys, originally uploaded by T i s d a l e.
Photographer T i s d a l e tells us about this March 1, 2011 image: I write about my adventures with the camera on my blog which you can find here: Tisdale Photograpy Blog. The Dissin’ Daffys were shot at the location discussed on the blog.
As regards the shot particulars. I used a Nikon D90, Manual Exposure Program. Shot at f/8 at 1/250th using a Sigma 10-20 mm lens. I was flat on the ground for the shot because I really wanted to get the tall lob lolly pines in the background in the shot. I use the wide angle a lot in floral shots and on the deep blooms I’ll usually shoot at f/22 or thereabouts to get the depth. f/8 got me where I wanted to be on this particular shot. I also use a Nikon 60 mm Macro on a lot of floral shots. It’s a very fast and very sharp lens.
I was a late converter to digital and still have my F3 Nikon which I still use in bad weather.
Daffodil, originally uploaded by tejvanphotos.
Photographer tejvanphotos tells us this March 14, 2011 photo was taken at Christ Church Meadow, Oxford UK.
Tejvan invites you to visit the website Gardeners’ Tips.
005, originally uploaded by Cornish Cowboy.
Photographer Cornish Cowboy tells us about this February 26, 2011 image: Pictured at Cury Cross Lanes on The Lizard Peninsula another field of dancing daffodils in a spring breeze. West Cornwall is a tapestry of yellow at the moment, so many fields seem to be turned over to daffodils, it’s an amazing sight. Due in part perhaps to the fact that a number of farmers are having to sell unprofitable dairy herds and turn their attentions to more lucrative crops.
Have you seen this Cornwall field – at Tremough near Penryn Cornwall?
Sakura Trees and Daffodils, originally uploaded by mouriran.
Photographer mouriran tells us about this March 14, 2011 image: I took the photo at the South Coast Botanical Garden in Palos Verdes Estates, CA during the Cherry Blossom Picnic Day they were having there.
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