Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

The Daffodil Festival at the astoundingly beautiful Gibbs Gardens is well underway. Before you say "No, not another flower festival!", know that this one is unique...it features 20,000,000 daffodils...Yes, 20 MILLION!


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens


My best friend, Barry, and I made the one-hour drive to Ball Ground, Georgia, on Saturday, hopeful that enough of the 20 million daffodils were up to be worth the trip. We were not disappointed...we saw the "early bloomers" of which there were millions of blooms! Yes...we counted! ; )


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

When we arrived at the Visitor Center we noticed Mr. Jim Gibbs himself greeting, welcoming, and chatting with visitors. Of course we had to meet him. Barry talked with him about family history and I wanted the inside scoop of the Daffodil Festival.

Mr. Gibbs shared with us that in two weeks, the weekend of March 22-23, one third of the 20 million daffodils will be in bloom—we're totally going back! And two weeks after that, the late bloomers will be up, most of which are fragrant varieties.


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

Daffodils, daffodils, daffodils...they were everywhere! There are quite a few above the Waterlily Gardens, which is very close to the Arbor Cafe, which features all outside seating. I was starving when we arrived so we started with lunch.

The Garden makes their own bread and OMG is it delicious! We both had the Chicken Salad Sandwich on their cranberry-walnut fresh-baked bread. This is reportedly Jim Gibbs' favorite sandwich...and for good reason—it's AMAZING! Oh...and you can buy loaves of fresh-baked bread to take home, which I've done!


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

I was impressed with the plantings...locations, swaths of daffodil design, and the numerous varieties. Barry's favorite were the ones with the orange cup (above photo) and my favorite were the miniatures.

According to Microscopy-UK, "Daffodils belong to the Amaryllidaceae family, which contains about 1,100 species. A large number of these species are cultivated for their attractive flowers. The genus Narcissus includes the daffodils, narcissi and jonquils."

Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

Okay, okay...so sometimes I'm silly, but it's just good clean fun. Give me credit for not picking it and putting it in my hair, alright?! You should see my Vulcan salute photo in the daffodils! Perhaps I'll post that in a photo gallery after publishing this post...


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

It was great to see how much fun visitors were having among the millions of daffodils. There was a family photographing one of their graduates in her cap and gown, there were groups of girlfriends on flower-viewing excursions, and there was one family celebrating a birthday with a bundt cake with daffodils coming out of the middle—it was a beautiful cake! I assume it was a lemon bundt cake. Have I told you how much I love lemon?


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

While I love the giant beds of daffodil blossoms, I really enjoyed the single blooms, too. You can see above that this blossom is by now no longer single, but about to be joined by numerous daffodil buddies. There were entire fields of yet to bloom daffodils...what we saw was already quite incredible and I'm sure I can't even imagine what it'll be like when the blooms are at peak. 

That's one of the great advantages of having purchased a Four Season Pass...their annual membership. Barry and I both picked up a membership during our last visit, for the Maple Tree Festival


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

I'm impressed with how convenient they make everything at Gibbs Gardens. There are plenty of sitting areas, there are lots of chairs at the shuttle stops, there are conveniently located restroom facilities throughout the Garden, free parking, a real-person orientation when you arrive...and so much more!


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

The Daffodil Garden was new for us. On the last two visits to Gibbs Gardens, I didn't explore that part of the Garden, which is a shame...it's beautifully designed and the Daffodil Garden is 30 acres (what I heard verbally, but the website says it's 50 acres)! 

On this particular visit, we started in the Daffodil Garden and then walked over to the Manor House, which is very close to the Daffodil Garden (and there are plenty of signs to help you find it effortlessly), and then we wandered over to Japanese Garden. The Maple Trees are down for winter, but the one giant Willow is coming in nicely...love that light, bright green color of new leaves!


Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens
Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens

Atlanta has a lot to offer, but you totally can't ignore all the incredible destinations near Atlanta, including Gibbs Gardens. They have 15-16 flower/plant/tree festivals, as well as concerts, and other special events...there's always something spectacular going on at Gibbs Gardens

Right now, go for the Daffodil Festival, featuring 20 MILLION daffodils!

No comments: