NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week, Tuesday, April 12, 2011

NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week, Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Daffodil (Narcissus spp.) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street.
NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week
By Head Gardener, George Reis
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Daffodil (Narcissus spp.) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street (on the south side of Bleecker St).

[You can watch a video of the installation of these flowers here.]


Did you know that Mayor Bloomberg named the daffodil the official flower of the City of New York in 2007? Yes, it's true, and for good reason. Over the last decade, more than 4 million daffodils have been planted by over 20,000 volunteers across the city as a living memorial to the events of 9/11. This wonderful initiative, known as The Daffodil Project, is led by New Yorkers for Parks in cooperation with the Parks Department. Daffodils on Bleecker Street (pictured here) were planted in our neighborhood by local schoolkids, volunteers, and the NYU Garden Shop as part of this great project.  

Soon after 9/11, the public garden designer Lynden B. Miller, who has taught courses at NYU, arranged with her Dutch bulb supplier Hans van Waardenburg of B&K Flowerbulbs to ship 500,000 daffodils to New York City as a way of lifting the spirits of our stricken city.  The following spring, the appearance of the daffodils in so many parks across the 5 boroughs became a powerful symbol of rebirth in a time of mourning. These daffodil plantings will continue each fall until there's a daffodil for each of NYC's 8 million residents.  Daffodils are a great choice for urban gardens because they're not palatable to squirrels, they regenerate and multiply themselves each year, and they are available in lots of sizes and color combinations of yellow, white, and orange. Just be sure to fertilize your daffodil beds each fall with some bulb food and remember to allow the foliage to dry out completely after the flowers are spent before you cut it back. As long as the foliage stays green, it's feeding the bulb with energy for the following year's flowers. You can see a video of school children and volunteers planting these daffodils back in 2009 on NYU's Youtube Channel.


Previous Plants of the Week:

Lenten Rose

April 5, 2011
Lenten Rose (Helleborus x hybridus) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street.

Camellia

March 29, 2011
Camellia 'April Remembered' (Camellia japonica 'April Remembered') at Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.

Japanese Maple

Mar 22, 2011
Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku') at Glucksman Ireland House

Hamamelis

Mar 18, 2011
NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week---Witch-hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) at #2 Washington Square Village Lobby Garden. (interior of Washington Square Village, W 3rd Street just west of Mercer)

Crocus Species

Mar 8, 2011
Crocus species mix on Bleecker Street side of NYU Coles Sports Center

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