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Post by Denny on May 9, 2002 1:29:10 GMT
A picture of Henry and me out along our drive last September. We have a large patch of daffodils and breed them. The ones planted along our drive are left over small bulbs from the patch. We have started planting the roadside now. The cats find the daffodils just the right height to play hide-and-seek in! The photo is a scanned one so not that clear. I am saving up for a digital camera   Regards to all, Denny and the furry critters |
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Post by Lesley on May 9, 2002 5:17:17 GMT
denny, the photo scanned quite clear. henry looks so similar to my coco.
the daffodils are lovely. i live (in b.c. canada) near the largest daffodil growers in canada. they were finished a few weeks ago. so lovely seeing the rows and rows of them in the fields.
thanks for sharing the photo. i hope you get a digital they are alot of fun
lesley
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Post by Ann on May 9, 2002 10:43:12 GMT
It looks wonderful Denny, so colourful, and it's quite clear.
We have banks of daffodils all along the roadsides here and they're a glorious sight each April.
How do you "breed" daffodils by the way?
Ann
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Post by Maria on May 9, 2002 21:01:04 GMT
It's a lovely photo Denny. I love daffodils!
Maria
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Post by Denny on May 11, 2002 9:45:55 GMT
Hi, you were asking about breeding daffodils, Ann, it is much the same as breeding animals, you choose the parents for the type of flower you hopefully will produce, take pollen from one flower and paint it on the stigma of the flower that will bear the seeds. Gather the seeds when they are ripe (they are shiny and black, about the size of a match head) keeping the names of the flowers that you have crossed. Plant the seeds and look after the resulting plants for 4 - 5 years until they bulbs get large enough to produce flowers. If you get a decent variety and decide it is worth registering and naming it can take another 5 years until you build up enough stock to start selling the bulbs.
Regards, Denny
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Post by Ann on May 11, 2002 10:10:49 GMT
That's fascinating Denny, I had no idea so much went into it. Thanks for taking the time to explain it. Is it just colour and size most people breed for? The reason I ask is because it always seems such a pity that the blooms themselves are so shortlived. Has anyone looked into breeding daffodils with a longer life? (Is that even feasible?)
Ann
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Post by Lesley on May 11, 2002 18:25:18 GMT
denny, breeding daffodils does sound fascinating!
i'm still at the stick it in the ground and hope for the best stage. i do try and plan, but with little gardening time i forget what the plan was by the time i get out there.
the daffodils are lovely, i have some pale yellow ones.
i agree with ann though, i wish there was a way to have longer blooms.
lesley
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Post by Miles on May 18, 2002 17:51:02 GMT
Darn, I must have missed this while my computer was down...great pic....!! The flowers are so colorful and vibrant...! What's the story on Henry, and do you have others....I'd love to hear about him... New Zealand is someplace I've always wantes to visit...! Miles |
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Post by Denny on May 20, 2002 23:11:34 GMT
Hello Miles, glad you like the photo. Henry is our lovely sealpoint boy, he is almost 2 and a half. He is the most wonderful natured cat and I love him to bits! We have had him since he was three months old.
The shame of it that he had a brother, Olly, who disappeared one morning when he was 10 months old and we never found him. We spent weeks looking for him - have never stopped looking for him really. We live in the country, not near any busy roads, but he was a very trusting friendly cat and could have been picked up by someone, I guess. He was the noisiest cat we had ever had and kept up a running commentary on everything. My most enduring memory of him is the time we had two huge burly foresters here felling some trees. They came in for lunch and Olly chose the biggest fiercest looking one and decided he was his friend. He clambered up on his knee and curled up and went to sleep. The forester guy was enchanted by him, as we all were.
The two Siamese brothers had been so good together we decided after Olly had been missing for 6 months that we would get another one, and so Lily came into our lives, from the same breeder. After the initial upheaval caused by a new kitten (the boys were horrified, but soon got used to her) they have settled down well together. Lily is a very little girl, she is a real house cat and doesn't venture far unless she is with us.
We also have Oscar, our Oriental. He is five now and was a rescued cat. There is a photo on here somewhere of him, he is very loving, too. He is a good hunter, but likes bringing his trophies in still alive and letting them go! Especially when we have visitors who hate mice, he lets them go under the table while we are having a meal. I am sure he does it on purpose. :-)
A friend is visiting England at the moment, she is having a great adventure travelling in Somerset, Dorset and Devon at present.
Regards, Denny
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