The sweet scent of daffodils filled the entryway of the Bryn Du Mansion, welcoming guests to the 78th annual daffodil show and sale hosted by the Granville Garden Club on April 12 and 13.
This year’s theme, A Wonderful Life, encouraged members to think about their most beautiful memories and create nostalgia-filled daffodil art. Many of the artists drew inspiration from life’s big moments, such as their wedding days or birth of their children, while others focused on their heritage and hobbies.
Kahea Milroy’s piece, “He Inoa No Ka Hula,” honors her Hawaiian heritage as well as her love for hula. She has been a member of the Granville Garden Club since 2022. This year, she created two pieces for the show. The first piece, a garden at the entrance of the show, greeted visitors as they walked into the exhibition on April 12 and 13.
“We all come from different backgrounds, but the one thing that unites us is our gardens,” she said. “It’s the one thing that unites us all.”
The more personal piece she created showcased photos of her when she was a competitive hula dancer along with a ukulele and a lei made of daffodils draped over the table.
“Originally, it was going to be an ode to my heritage, but it evolved into the hula which I have done my whole life,” she explained.
Racquael Wilkes has been a member of the club since 2024 and her installation this year, “A Healthy Life,” shows her passion for a holistic approach to health.
“I’m a nurse,” she said. “I came out of the hospital to get my holistic degree and I bought a homestead out here in Granville and I grow my own medicine.” Her piece displayed daffodils surrounded by beakers and containers filled with medicinal herbs.
Jill Yost has been participating in the garden club since 2016. Her piece was dedicated to her wedding.
“I was a teacher all my life, and my wedding was in March during spring break,” she said. “I love spring blooms, daffodils, irises, roses.”
This year for her installation, she recreated her wedding bouquet, which was full of beautiful yellow daffodils.
Jan Mennell created a piece in honor of a summer home she visited as a child. A member of the club since 2023, she dedicated her piece to the fun times she had with her siblings at their Lake Erie home. “We spent our summer up there our whole life,” she said. “All the driftwood and sea glass is from up there.”
The annual daffodil show and sale is an opportunity for people from across Ohio to explore and purchase floral arrangements while supporting local education. Funds from the sale of art and daffodil bulbs goes to support scholarships for Granville students, as well as beautification projects throughout the village, members of the club said on Saturday.
Ellen Hansen writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.