Spring Brings Daffodils to Julian
By Bobbi Zane

The Annual Daffodil Show at Blue Heron Garden Shop and Gallery features hundreds of beautiful blossoms.

Each year, spring transforms the hillsides surrounding Julian into banks of sunny yellow daffodils, as the flowers emerge from their annual winter's sleep.

By now, there must be millions of them, as locals have been planting bulbs at the rate of about 20,000 each fall for more than a decade. The bulbs divide exponentially every year at the rate of three to one. It all adds up to a marvelous floral display, one that gets better and better every March.

March also brings the Annual Daffodil Show, that, like the daffodils themselves, grows larger every year. The show, set for March 7 and 8 this year at the Blue Heron Garden Shop and Gallery, features a display of daffodils grown by local gardeners, selection of the best by the judges and awarding of prizes. Anyone who has daffodils may compete, and everyone is invited to view the flowers.

The idea of holding the Daffodil Show in Julian came from Los Angeles-based Jay Pengra, who had organized many large flower shows as president of the Southern California Daffodil Society. Inspiration came following a visit to Julian during the late winter bloom. He contacted Sally Snipes, organizer of the planting program, and presented a small show at the Coffee House in 2005. The next year, needing more room for set-up and flower display, the show moved to the Blue Heron.

Anne Dawkins and her mother Joan Dawkins, along with Pengra, are organizing the show again this year, anticipating more people and many more flowers. They expect to display as many as 300 individual blossoms in their shop. Most will come from daffodil plots that have naturalized over the years, making it hard to identify some individual flowers.

The flowers are judged in 38 categories against standards established for each variety. This presents a problem to most Julian growers who have purchased and planted bulbs

in bulk with the goal of naturalizing them. Most don't know what they have or whether the flowers they do have can be submitted for judging. To help address the problem last fall, Dawkins offered her customers a selection of daffodil bulbs that can be judged. These include the big yellow King Alfred, a pinkish Palmares, a tiny yellow Rip Van Winkle, a yellow narcissus called Chinese Sacred Lily, a double Full House, and white Bridal Crown. Doubtless some of these lovely flowers will be on display at this year's show.

Any daffodil enthusiast may enter daffodils grown in home gardens, whether or not the names of the varieties are known, according to Dawkins, who says that Pengra should be able to identify most flowers. For those deciding to enter, here are a few things to do to make the flowers show well.

When selecting blooms, look for overall freshness and uniform color, and absence of tears or insect bites. There should be no soil, dust or pollen on the blooms. Petals should be perpendicular to the cup and flattish without ridges or wrinkles. Stems should be straight and strong.

There is no entry fee for submissions of home-grown flowers. Deliver them to the Blue Heron on Friday afternoon, March 7 or Saturday morning, March 8. Experts will be on hand to help identify them, if needed, and record entries.

The flower show is one of two Julian events celebrating daffodils. As they did last year, members of the Julian Arts Guild will mount a daffodil art show in Town Hall while the flower show is taking place. Look for daffodil-themed photography, watercolors, paintings, ceramics and more at this art show. The Daffodil Art Show runs March 7 to 9, with a reception set for Friday, March 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Admission to both shows is free. For information, phone the Blue Heron at 760-765-0480 or Julian Chamber of Commerce at 760-765-1857, or log on to www.julianca.com.

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