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Everything’s Coming Up Daffodils In Cashiers
Written By: Stephanie Edwards - Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce | Issue: April 2023
Showstopping vignettes of daffodils are taking the spotlight throughout Cashiers.
Every year since the fall of 2019, Cashiers Area businesses surrounding the US 64 and NC 107 Crossroads plant daffodil bulbs in roadside beds.
The Cashiers Area Chamber’s Retail Roundtable under the leadership of board member Lec Hobbs of Highland Hiker, organized the wholesale purchase and installation of the multitude of flowers to create a dramatic visual cue when they bloom that Spring is arriving in the mountains! To date, more than 1,500 bulbs have been planted.
According to a reference in The Charlotte Observer, North Carolina daffodil varieties were descendants of flowers that were planted in England in the 1200s. They speculate those made their way to the New World, and then out west when the Cherokee who had fallen in love with this lovely undocumented alien, carried daffodil bulbs on the Trail of Tears from the North Carolina mountains to Oklahoma.
Here on the Plateau, the cheerful daffodil is typically among the first botanicals to sprout among the high elevation flowering species. Despite some cold temperatures and occasional snow flurries in March, the flowers push their distinctive blooms up to signify the verdant season is just around the corner.
Southern Living advises daffodils are “long lived, increasing naturally from year to year; they stand up to cold and heat; they have many garden uses; and offer a fascinating array of flower forms, sizes, and colors. Given minimal care at planting, all thrive with virtually no further attention, not requiring summer watering and need only infrequent division. Finally, rodents and deer won’t eat them.”
In the past, this Chamber’s Retail Roundtable Daffodil Effort included not only individual business purchases and planting of the bulbs but also the engagement of youth group support in public areas like the Village Green. Planting was an opportunity for students to learn about the importance of environmental stewardship and the future payoff of investment in time and energy.
Other Chamber Retail Roundtable projects have included a “Welcome Cashiers” doormat hospitality campaign, a Cashiers 1833 flag promotion, and the Village Lights holiday display in coordination with the central park’s Christmas festivities and tree lighting. For more information, visit CashiersAreaChamber.com, call 828-743-5191 or email [email protected].
