Celebrating spring with an ‘Ode to Daffodils’

The Garden Club of Shelter Island invites the community to enjoy its 12th Daffodil Show — the only Daffodil Show on Long Island — at the Ram’s Head Inn on Saturday, April 16 from 2 to 5 p.m.

Daffodil displays, created by Garden Club members and inspired by William Wordsworth’s poem, “Ode to Daffodils,” will fill all three downstairs rooms at the inn. During the show a formal tea will be served, including several varieties of tea, lavender scones, assorted tea sandwiches and truffles. Everything is included in the $20 per person admission fee.

This is a judged show, approved by the American Daffodil Society. The show’s founder was the late Alice Fiske of Sylvester Manor, who was affectionately known to club members and the community as “the Daffodil Lady.”

Among the profusion of daffodils filling the inn will be formal arrangements of three varieties — table settings, small designs and dramatic designs — all inspired by quotations from Wordsworth’s famous poem.

The Youth Division of the Garden Club will have its own exhibit, also with a poetic theme.

Amateur growers on the Island are invited to exhibit in a special
Horticultural Section. Bring your entries to the Ram’s Head the day before the show, Friday, April 15, between 2 and 6 p.m. and Garden Club members will be on hand to help you with the entry forms.

Get some hints on daffodil arrangements next Wednesday, April 13 at 12:30 p.m. in St. Mary’s Parish Hall when Lissa Williamson, a National Garden Club judge, will demonstrate “tricks of the trade” in her talk, “How Your Daffodils Can Steal the Show.” Garden Club members will benefit from watching her create arrangements and those exhibiting in the Horticultural Section will learn how to groom and stage their entries.

For more information about how to enter your own daffodils, call Carole Reed (749-1656) or Dianne Bowditch (749-7849).

Islanders who want to create their own field of daffodils next spring can get a head start at the show, too. Garden Club members will help you order bulbs that will produce any of the daffodils you’ve seen during the afternoon. Place your order on the spot and it will arrive in time for fall planting.

Three Island restaurants — the Chequit in the Heights, the Dory on Bridge Street and Kyle’s on Route 114 in the Center — have gotten into the spring spirit with a special prix-fixe Daffodil Brunch from 12 noon to 2 p.m. on the day of the show, April 16.

As Garden Club member Hilary King wrote about this event, “… do come, invite a friend … it’s a lovely way to celebrate spring that’s here at last!”