First Weekend in April
Celebrating the Daffodil!
The Annual Gloucester Daffodil Festival takes place the first Saturday and Sunday of April. It is the biggest annual festival in Gloucester County attracting more than 20,000 visitors each year.
A lot of us recognize the ubiquitous Daffodil flower to be one of the first signs of the Spring season throughout much of the U.S. But did you know that Gloucester County, Virginia has long been considered “The Daffodil Capitol of the America”?
About the Gloucester Daffodil Festival:
The Gloucester Daffodil Festival is a fun filled, family friendly event. The festival is the best of all things Daffodils and Spring! The event features:
- A fun small town parade through downtown Gloucester shows off unique and creative floats, and classic cars. Nearby school’s marching bands kicks off the festival Saturday morning at 10:00 am.
- Fun activities for kids, (if you got em’)
- The “Fabulous Mutt Show” for dogs, (if you got em’)
- Plenty of arts and crafts vendors, as well as all kinds of food vendors as well.
- A daffodil Show at the nearby elementary school where growers show off their prized bulbs/flowers in a juried setting.
- Don’t miss a visit to the nearby Brent and Becky’s bulbs! You can visit their fabulous Garden shop and purchase a wide variety of bulbs and Perennial plants. See 100’s of variety of Daffodils as well as other spectacular plantings throughout their gardens. Sign up in advance to take a Garden Tour there…it is well worth it!
The Early History of the Daffodil in Virginia
A relatively small county located in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay Region, Gloucester has been well known for it’s daffodil fields and production since the early 1600’s. Some of the first settlers and colonists brought bulbs with them from England. With plenty of land, and good growing conditions the bulbs that were first planted in Gloucester quickly spread and multiplied. Daffodils are low maintenance plants that do not require much attention. Many fields throughout the region were soon covered in seas of wild daffodils each Spring. This attracted visitors from far and wide to marvel at the golden fields along the roadside and waterways.
A few entrepreneurs in the early 1900’s soon saw the value in this beautiful resource. Flower farmers began to cut and transport the colorful array of bulbs once bloomed. Then they shipped them to other relatively nearby ports of call via steamboats departing nearby Mathews County. During and after the Great Depression era the daffodil became more popular than almost any flower in America. This includes the rose as it was far less expensive to grow and ship.
During the height of daffodil production in the area between 1920- 1946, it’s estimated that approximately 120,000 Daffodils a Day where shipped during peak growing season in early spring. Alas, overproduction started to bring prices down, and not long after the Second World war, most growers had converted their land to more lucrative means.
More recent Daffodil News:
Gloucester was still considered to be in its peak for Daffodil production, their first Daffodil Festival was held in 1937. The festival continued as an annual event through 1941 when it was then suspended due to the war. It was revived in 1986 by the combined efforts of the citizens of Gloucester, the Parks and Recreation department, and most notably of Brent and Becky Heath.
The Heath family had been in the Daffodil business for generations in Gloucester. They and once owned the Daffodil Mart in Gloucester that has since become Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. Brent Heath and his wife Becky have become industry experts, and have been featured in many well known publications. Brent and Becky’s Bulbs are considered to be the premier provider of Daffodil bulbs. They offer some of the highest quality and award winning cultivars of daffodils, but other bulbs and perennials as well.
Stay Inn with us this Spring and visit the Gloucester Daffodil Festival April 6th and 7th!
