Springtime blooms in time for weekend show at Mill Creek

By Jordyn Grzelewski | jgrzelewski@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Strolling through Fellows Riverside Gardens, visitors already can spot an abundance of springtime flora in bloom.

The most prominent blooms are those that have become a spring favorite for many Mill Creek MetroParks visitors: daffodils.

Daffodils of all colors and varieties will be on display in all of their glory at “Daffodil Weekend” at the gardens this Saturday and Sunday.

“Daffodils are a big part of our spring display here at the Gardens,” said Keith Kaiser, MetroParks horticulture director. “We have nearly 200 cultivars, or types, of daffodils.”

Daffodil Weekend gives visitors a chance to enjoy daffodils planted throughout the gardens, view or enter a daffodil show and visit Daffodil Meadow, an area adjacent to Lake Newport in which hundreds of daffodils grow.

During guided walks through the gardens — officially recognized as display gardens by the American Daffodil Society — this weekend, visitors will see hundreds of cultivated daffodils, from the “Fellows Favorite,” a large-cupped daffodil named in honor of Fellows Riverside Gardens’ 50th anniversary in 2008, to the “Tete-a-Tete,” a miniature daffodil variety.

“These often have couples on a stem. I think that’s why they’re called ‘Tete-a-Tete,’ because they’re talking to one another,” Kaiser explained.

Visitors to the gardens now can enjoy the displays longer than they used to, Kaiser said.

“We really worked hard at creating longer displays by interplanting with other [flowers],” he explained. One such display features pansies, hyacinths, daffodils, tulips and more.

Residents also can enter the Daffodil Show, which runs Friday through Sunday.

“It’s open to anybody who wants to bring a daffodil,” Kaiser said. Contestants can enter in 13 divisions, such as trumpet daffodils and jonquilla daffodils .

“It’s just beautiful just to see the diversity of colors,” he said. “It’s not a bunch of pressure. It’s just fun and a chance to learn about plants.”

This weekend is near the peak time to pay a visit to Daffodil Meadow, which Valley residents have enjoyed since it was planted in the 1930s by the Garden Club of Youngstown.

“We’ve been planting them every few years since,” Kaiser said, adding that visitors should not pick the daffodils.

Today, the Fellows Riverside Gardens team helps maintain the meadow and has plans to improve it this year. The park system project, funded through the garden club, includes planting new bulbs — for example, the Saint Keverne daffodil, which originated in the 1930s — adding identification signs and a mowed grass trail.

Kit Sikora, originally from the area and now of Tucson, Ariz., stumbled upon the meadow Friday as she strolled through the park.

“I was looking for a place to walk. And I love daffodils — we don’t have them in Tucson,” she said. “It’s very pretty.”

Daffodil season also can be enjoyed at home. Kaiser said he encourages every gardener to add some daffodils to their array.

“There’s always room in everyone’s garden for daffodils,” he said. “They just instantly add what we’re looking for from spring colors — some cheeriness.”

Events at Fellows Riverside Gardens run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information about Daffodil Weekend, visit www.millcreekmetroparks.com or call Fellows Riverside Gardens at 330-740-7116.