BAYFIELD'S DAFFODILS

BAYFIELD DAFFODILS HAVE BEGUN TO BLOOM

Monday, 7:45 AM.  39 degrees F at the ferry dock, 36 on the back porch.  Wind variable and calm at present.  Humidity 89%, barometer 30.18" and falling.  It is as fine a morning as anyone could want, and the wind has stopped blowing!  Time to get some yard work done.

   Bayfield's huge daffodil display is just coming into full bloom.  We have had some daffodils blooming for perhaps a week now, on south facing slopes and other warm and sunny locations, but the thousands that have been planted in parks and in front of businesses and churches are now almost in full bloom.  Another few days and the little city will be glorious with yellow daffodils.

   We have been planting daffodils almost every year for the past dozen or so years, and we have tens of thousands of bulbs planted.  The effort has been pretty successful from a horticultural standpoint, and our spring has become  colorful indeed.

   The reason for planting daffodils was to enhance the idea of "Bayfield in Bloom," which was, in turn, an effort to increase spring tourism.  "Put heads in beds," was the business plan for a community that relies on tourism, and that mainly in the months of July through September.  Spring and fall are considered the "shoulder seasons," and in need of promotion.  The Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center came up with the daffodil idea and has funded its implementation.  Whether it has met business expectations or not I can't say, but it sure has made the little city pretty.

  The next few days will provide a lot of photos of daffodils, and with the long, cool and until lately damp spring they will last for weeks; certainly through the Bayfield in Bloom kickoff on Friday, May 13.  More on that as the date approaches.