Margaret Homestead 2013
One rainy morning, Merle, Cedric, and I drove to Cloverdale to visit the 300-acre homestead Merle knew as a boy. The property once belonged to Margaret Adams, who passed away in 2000 after a 60-year friendship with him. As an eight-year-old, Merle would take daffodils she picked on her land and give them away in town. Now, the homestead is abandoned, and Merle has permission to dig up and replant her “pioneer” daffodils.
We walked toward the deteriorating barn and house, with Cedric stopping often to drink rainwater. Merle has permission from the heirs to pick, dig, and replant the daffodils on other properties. He even built planter boxes from the collapsed chicken coops for the daffodils and faun lilies.
Margaret Adam’s Barn
The barn houses a decaying car, while boars root around the buildings. Boar hunters occasionally visit, but the place is slowly fading away.
Margaret Adam’s House
The torn-up ground from the boars works in Merle’s favor, as he loves planting his daffodils in the holes they create, along with gopher holes.
Merle Reuser holding a clump of pioneer daffodils
In the photo above, Merle is separating a clump of small yellow trumpeted daffodils, about 14 inches tall. This daffodil multiplies rapidly, producing sixteen blooms by the fourth year. Unlike larger yellow varieties, which often don’t rebloom, this little beauty thrives.
Now this does not look very unusual to people who can distinguish a daffodil from a tulip, but this daffodil is very special. Of all the daffodils that I grow, the larger yellow trumpeted ones do not rebloom for as many years as many others, particularly the Mediterranean types, Jonquills and hybrid narcissus. But this little beauty multiplies and doubles, Merle says, until the single daffodil becomes sixteen daffodils in the fourth year!
The origin of this “settler’s” daffodil remains a mystery, but for those who cherish daffodils, it stands out.
After Ceddy’s Second Pond Rescue
During the visit, Cedric—who can’t resist puddles—twice fell into a pond as his arthritic legs gave way. Merle rescued him both times. Afterward, Cedric settled into his blankets, soaking wet, while Merle planted daffodils around his dance floor by a country road, creating a six-foot-wide border of flowers.
Merle at Work on His Dance Floor with Daffodil Frame
Look for “Dancing with Daffodils” on Facebook to see more about Merle’s activities and giving projects.
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