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Daffodils galore draw visitors to Fellows Riverside Gardens
YOUNGSTOWN — Sunny skies, warm weather and table after table of daffodils drew people to Fellows Riverside Gardens in Mill Creek Park.
The daffodils — miniature and larger versions — were part of the annual show at the Davis Visitor Center on Saturday and Sunday. This year’s Daffodil Show is one of 41 shows throughout the country in association with the American Daffodil Society.
With more than 220 classifications, visitors were amazed at the wide variety of flowers on display.
“They’re beautiful,” said Valerie Mackey. “I really did not realize there were so many different kinds. I think I’ve seen the white and the yellow, and that’s it, so it’s educational.”
Mackey, attending the show for the first time, traveled from Grove City, Pa., with her husband and four sons to see the many daffodils.
Chase, 9, agreed with his mom, saying he didn’t realize there were so many different kinds, sizes and colors.
His brother, Quinn, 6, liked that so many varieties were displayed.
“I like all the different kinds, like the white and orange ones. They’re really pretty,” Collin, 11, noted.
Mackey said she grows a few daffodils.
“But I don’t know if they’re anything special. They’re just yellow,” she said with a laugh.
On display were daffodils in many colors, including white, cream, pale yellow, bright yellow, peach and orange. Some had one color of petals with another color center. All were tucked into green or clear bottles with greenery.
Lynn Hoffman, Youngstown, entered 50 or 60 flowers. Some were single entries, while others were in vases of three.
Daffodils are easy to grow, Hoffmann said. He grows 250 to 270 varieties on his property and adds 20 to 30 more each fall.
The show is open to the public to enter and includes a youth division. Judging is done by an accredited judge from the Daffodil Society.
The judge checks if the point of the bottom petal lines up with the stem, if the flower is looking right at you and makes certain it is clean and has no nicks in the petals.
“So they just simply look for perfection,” said Hoffmann, who has been entering the show for many years.
This year Hoffmann walked away with quite a few ribbons, including two American Daffodil Society Special Awards: one for best collection of five stems and one for best vase of three stems, pre-1940 cultivar.