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The
Legend of The Daffodil Garden
Each time a
Guardian Angel notices a good deed -
a prayer, kindness or sacrifice -
she plucks a gold star from the heavens
and sends it to Earth,
where it blooms as a golden daffodil.
~ Legend of the
Daffodil, Author Unknown
Once
upon a not-too-distant time, high above the hubbub and din
of a sprawling metropolis and in the peace and quiet of
the backcountry, there was a mountainside garden where
daffodils danced in the sunlight. It was a miraculous*
place where the joy of real beauty, real sweetness and
light, and real fragrances was to be found.
Daffodil
Angel, courtesy of www.blackswandesigns.com
A Guardian Angel watched over Gene Bauer, the mistress of
the garden, who was intent on blanketing the mountainside
with bright, cheery daffodils. For forty years, Gene
planted her daffodils, one at a time. Each bulb was placed
in a hole that had been laboriously formed by prying out
rocks and filling it with amended soil.
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Her
husband Dale toiled alongside her,
wheelbarrowing the soil; building flower boxes
for the tulips, muscari
and hyacinths;
carving steps into the slopes; constructing
graceful walking paths; and creating seating,
outdoor rooms and viewing areas.
Each
spring, their labor was rewarded when the
Guardian Angel would pluck gold
stars from the heavens and spill them on the mountainside, where they would bloom as golden
daffodils.
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With
open hearts, the kind couple would share the
beauty of the daffodils by opening up their garden to the
public -- to total strangers. There was no
charge for admission. Theirs were labors of love;
their garden, a gift to their visitors.
The
yellow daffodils with angel-trumpet noses on their
distinctive six-pointed, star-burst faces and
green leaves upraised in praise of the Creator
worked their miracles
as no other flowers can. |
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cheer was contagious, brightening up the faces
of the visitors.
"What
is paradise? But a garden,... full of
pleasure and nothing there but delights."
~William
Lawson
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As
they meandered through the garden, the visitors
walked with new springs in their steps, smiles
on their faces and sparkling glints of hope in
their eyes. They felt lighter and carefree --
like the daffodils themselves!
Touched
by the couple's generosity of spirit and the joy
of the garden, the visitors were transformed,
becoming kindlier and more generous with others
-- yes, even to total strangers.
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For
years thereafter, sweet memories allowed them to
reexperience the joy of the daffodil garden, best
expressed by poet William Wordsworth:
For
oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
| One
hot summer's day, out of the blue, a catastrophic wildfire
swept across the mountainside, destroying 63,000
forested acres, including the five acres of this
fabled garden.
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in its wake was a fire-scarred mountainside and the
charred remains of the couple's snug A-frame cabin
and the stately pines, majestic oaks and brilliant
maples that surrounded it. |
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When
spring came, the Guardian Angel enlisted the
help of a host of angels, and a million gold
stars were plucked from the heavens.
The
sheer magnitude of this couple's good deeds --
their prayers, kindnesses and sacrifices -- did
not go unnoticed by the Guardian Angel. |
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are symbols of hope, and the Guardian Angel was
not about to let the couple and their visitors
down.
From
the ashes, out sprung a million golden
daffodils! Just as it does, every
year, every spring, ever since.
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*What
is a miracle? A miracle is defined as "an
extraordinary intervention of God".
Angel
Links: Angel
By Your Side ~ Host
of Angels ~ Angel
Messages
>>
Next: About
the Garden
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 First,
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|
The
Legend of The Daffodil Garden | About
the Garden | Visitor
Info: When and Where | A
Virtual Walking Tour | (Alma)
Gene and Dale Bauer | The
Daffodil Garden Fact Sheet | About
Daffodils | Daffodil
Lore | Daffodil
Art | Daffodil
Sayings & Quotes | Daffodil
Odes | Daffodil
Links | Site
Map |
"The
only gift is a portion of thyself."
~
Ralph
Waldo Emerson
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First,
stick
a pushpin where you live; then, if you wish,
share your thoughts on daffodils and
this Web site in the comments window. Thank you!
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