Right now, a paved path that connects Front Street to Main Street in downtown Belfast is bordered by plain grass. Next spring, though, the path will be surrounded by a rippling, golden river of daffodils.
That is the vision of Elisabeth Wolfe, a Belfast woman who dreams of planting a million flowers in the city. A team of about 15 downtown business owners and friends worked Monday morning to plant 5,500 bulbs alongside the path. More bulbs will be planted in other locations, including along the Belfast Rail Trail, around a parking lot near the Armistice Bridge, and on Belfast Common.
Wolfe said that it is the fourth year people have worked to plant bulbs in Belfast through the Belfast Daffodil Project, and although the goal of a million bulbs is still far off, every fall they get a bit closer. Volunteers have planted 26,000 bulbs so far this year.
“We had an amazing show last year. It was beyond expectations,” Wolfe said while placing bulb after bulb in the ground. “This is the fall planting. When we finish this year, we will have planted nearly 157,000 bulbs over the four years.”
The bulbs that were planted Monday morning, plus 3,000 more that are not yet in the ground, were donated by about 23 Belfast-area businesses. "They’re easy to plant," Wolfe said, "and although they look delicate they are actually hardy plants that grow well in different kinds of soil and come back every year." They attract pollinators, and animals such as squirrels and deer rarely dig them up.
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