Merle Reuser With His High School Wheels – Now Used to Deliver Daffodil Bouquets!
Merle Reuser is a daffodil “freak” as he describes himself. He has become well known in Cloverdale and Santa Rosa for his work of giving away bouquets of daffodils. Margaret Adams, who lived on an old homestead outside of Cloverdale was like a grandmother to him. He carried bouquets of pioneer daffodils she had picked to town to give away and make people happy.
Over time, cows carried material on their hoofs, birds planted seeds and these daffodils planted by settlers in the 1820s spread across her fields. Each clump would grow and divide up to about fifty bulbs and then stop dividing but keep reblooming. Merle found that if he lifted the clumps and pulled the individual bulbs apart, he could replant each one individually. Gopher holes and boar rooting made this easier! They would double each year, thus, after four years there would be sixteen daffodils where just one began. His efforts now are focused on landscaping “the last two miles” of a country road in Cloverdale in honor of Margaret Adams.
In addition to that project he digs up and replants the daffodils during the months when he can locate and move them, He believes It will take his remaining years to accomplish the task, He also picks the blooms each spring and gives away bouquets in memory of young people who have died of cancer. Each year he takes the clusters of blooms to their schools and gives them to students.
Our Meeting
Merle found me because he had seen an article in The Press Democrate in Santa Rosa and saved it. When he called, he said he had heard that I was called the Daffodil Lady, I replied that I had heard that. He then said, “Well, I’m the Daffodil Man and we have to meet.” He brought up Chris Smith who is a reporter for the Press Democrat who was unaware of the previous article. We toured my paths and hillside which were full of daffodils in bloom. When Chis’ article came out we had been promoted to the “King and Queen” of daffodils.
Merle has taken me to several daffodil venues since then. We visited “Daffodil Hill” in Volcano, California, a place I had always wanted to see. In Gold Country, we explored Ironstone Winery, where a million daffodils line the roads and fields. We also returned to Cloverdale to see the settler’s daffodils and explored various wildflower areas.
Merle is also corresponding with Gene Bauer, the woman behind “Daffodil Hill.” She inspired “The Daffodil Principle,” a story that circulates widely on the internet. At eighty-six, Gene still remains active, although her property is no longer open to the public.
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