December 26, 2024
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River Corridor Foundation to plant another 5,000 daffodil bulbs in Mount St. Mary Park in October

By Eric Schelkopf

Thanks to the efforts of over 120 volunteers and sponsors; Heinz Brothers Greenhouse & Garden Center, Turning Leaf Landscape, Shaw Media, Midwest Compost, True Knack Graphics and Arends, Inc. the 5,000 daffodil bulbs planted last October in Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles are in full bloom and bringing smiles to the entire community. (Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

The sea of yellow daffodils continue to provide a burst of color to the western edge of Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles.

With the help of volunteers, the nonprofit River Corridor Foundation of St. Charles planted more than 5,000 daffodil bulbs last October around the popular Mr. Eggward sculpture. The group on Oct. 16 plans to plant another 5,000 daffodil bulbs next to last year’s planting area.

“We are proud to announce the continuation of the Project Daffodil initiative with the support of our presenting sponsor, Heinz Brothers Greenhouse Garden Center and the St. Charles Park District,” Project Daffodil Coordinator John Rabchuk said.

Once again, the group is looking for volunteers and donations to ensure the success of the program. About 125 volunteers helped plant the bulbs last year.

“We’re hoping for roughly the same number this year,” Rabchuk said. “We’ve already had a few people sign up.”

Those who would like to be a sponsor, make an individual donation or volunteer to help plant the bulbs can go to projectdaffodilstc.com.

Rabchuk noted the impact that Project Daffodil has had.

“There were people taking pictures every day when the daffodils were blooming this spring,” he said. “It’s a very popular photographic site in town. It’s very visible from Route 31. It’s kind of a gateway into downtown from the south. And a lot of people use the bike path and were stopping and taking pictures or doing so when they’re jogging or walking by.”

In addition to the daffodil bulbs, volunteers will also be planting 150 native Virginia bluebells throughout the new planting area. Rabchuk believes the daffodils and the Virginia bluebells will complement each other.

“The Virginia bluebells will meld well with the yellow of the daffodils, I think,” Rabchuk said. “And they bloom at the same time.”

Rabchuk said that Heinz Brothers Greenhouse owner Jay Schrock, who donated the daffodil bulbs last year, was excited to participate in the project again this year.

“He loved the way it looked and he said he had a lot of people come into his shop and that they appreciated what he had done in terms of the donation,” he said.

More information about Project Daffodil is available at projectdaffodilstc.com.


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