Daffodils

At our district horticultural convention last fall, I won a door prize -- a box of 200 dwarf daffodil bulbs. A few minutes before the draw, I was eyeing the prizes with another attendee. Referring to the box of bulbs, I stated that there was no way I wanted to win that. I was finished planting for the season, and frankly I was tired of gardening and was looking forward to a long winter's rest.

But win the box of bulbs I did. I'm never very lucky at draws and really didn't think my luck had improved any with this win. Home I went with a box -- not a package -- of daffodil bulbs.

I planted all 200 daffodils in our front yard. Because I wasn't too happy with the situation, I didn't do a stellar job of it. I planted them in groups of 5 or 7 or 9 -- or 11 or 13 -- , anywhere there was enough room between other plants. And gave a great sigh when the job was finished. So happy was I to have all the daffodils planted that I tossed the box -- not even noting the name of the variety.

By the time spring arrived, I had forgotten about my prize until I spied the telltale flat leaves of daffodils popping up here and there. During the next few days, daffodils sprouted everywhere! Dainty clumps of yellow adorned the front yard. Those dwarf daffodils were wonderful! My yard was a cheery fantasy because of the daffodils I won the fall before. Sometimes life makes good choices for us whether we like it or not!

By the way, the daffodils were 'Tete a Tete.'