Ep 209. Frenchy's Field and Tidying Daffodil Foliage

In this episode, Mary Stone describes a labyrinth in Frenchy's Field along the Santa Fe River that April Fisher of the Sussex County NJ Native Plant Society shared and tidbits about Prairie Dogs prevalent there. 

She then discusses the importance of allowing Daffodil Foliage to fade to ensure future blooms—and stylish ways of tidying daffodil foliage while allowing it to go dormant.  

Related Posts, Podcasts, and Helpful Links:

Tidying Daffodil Foliage - Blog Post

Ep 81. Bulbs Extending Blooms & Deterring Squirrels

Bulbs to Extend Spring Blooms - Blog Post

Ep 207. Labyrinths Provide Paths of Healing

Labyrinths Provide Paths of Healing - Blog Post

The Labyrinth Resource Group about Frenchy's Field Labyrinth.

The National Geographic Kids Page about Prarie Dogs 

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I'd love to hear your garden and nature stories and your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com.

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Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page

Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life,
Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
                                        AskMaryStone.com

More about the Podcast and Column:

Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
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Transcript

Ep 209.Frenchy's Field and Tidying Daffodil Foliage

Sun, Jun 15, 2025 6:57AM • 11:35

SPEAKERS

Mary Stone

Mary Stone  00:01

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Mary Stone  00:26

Hello there. Welcome to the screen porch. The first glorious sunny day in a long time. After so much rain, it makes us pause in gratitude for the sunshine. That is for sure. I look forward to sharing a story about my escapades, tidying Daffodil foliage in style. But first, thanks to those who reached back after our last chat about spongy moths versus tent caterpillars. My free weekly newsletter included a link to the story about the spongy moths versus tent caterpillars, as well as one about the labyrinth we spoke about a few weeks ago. 

Mary Stone  01:01

It was fun to hear from April Fisher. We met long ago at the Spring Fest Garden Show, and she's very involved in the local chapter of the Native Plant Society. And she writes, Hi, Mary, I just wanted to thank you for providing confirmation of the name change of the Gypsy Moth to spongy moth. I was just recently discussing the larva with some folks who thought they were tent caterpillars and hadn't heard of spongy moths. Then, she sent a gorgeous photo of a labyrinth that she visited while she was in Santa Fe. It's in a public park called Frenchy's Field along the Santa Fe River. The sky out there is majestic. If you have never been to Santa Fe, I highly recommend it. We love it there, and the photos are beautiful. I'm going to actually add it to the labyrinth story that's posted on the Garden Dilemmas website. Of course, I had to look into the park, and I found wonderful information about it on the labyrinth resource group who writes the Frenchy's Fields Labyrinth project was sponsored by the Santa Fe Interfaith Council in 1998 and led by community organizers Michael Hopp and his team of artists. The Seventh Circuit classical Labyrinth is made of a modified Adobe mix called Cobb. The mounds are molded with clay, rich soil, straw, and water. The labyrinth needs to be maintained on an annual basis,s a process called mudding. And there's a link to a video on YouTube of how that is done. 

Mary Stone  02:29

And I had to smile because I've worked in heavy clay soil that you can actually form into sculptures. So, I wonder if you can make a labyrinth here in New Jersey. I kind of doubt it. You just don't have that sun-baked effect. You know what I mean? It was such fun to read some of the reviews about the park on Trip Advisor. Frenchy's Field, not too many years ago, was a cow pasture twice a day. Enraged commuters had to wait as the cows ambled across. Now, those with only two legs can walk on the well-paved trail. It is level, so walkers and wheelchairs are not a problem. I think three laps are a mile, so get out there for some sun and exercise. 

Mary Stone  03:09

When I first moved to Blairstown, there were cows crossing the road from field to field, and I'll never forget the first time I drove over fresh cow manure, and it just sucked up underneath my vehicle, and it lasted there for a very long time. So, but I wasn't enraged. I thought it was kind of neat. Another reviewer wrote This park has been infested with Prairie dogs over the last couple of years. They are the cutest little rodents. Laugh Out Loud, there is even a labyrinth to walk around. The man who owned the park handed it over to the city once he was unable to care for it and asked that it become a prairie dog sanctuary of sorts if they arrived. That's the local story I hear around town. I go here all the time with my huge doggy, and he makes lots of friends. He is not a prairie dog chaser. So, if your dog does, chase them. Don't go there, because there are just too many.

Mary Stone  04:05

And then I had to learn about prairie dogs because we do not have them here. They are the cutest little 15-inch rodents related to squirrels, and they bark like dogs, which is what gave them their name. The National Geographic Kids page writes the mammal is all about family time. Prairie Dog family groups, which contain up to 26 individuals, share food, groom each other, and even greet one another with nose-to-nose nuzzles. Isn't that cute? Prairie Dog families live with hundreds of others in a network of tunnels dug below North America's grasslands. Most of these communities, called Dog towns, cover less than a half a square mile, but one in Texas stretches 100 miles. Can you imagine that?  They are a genus of five species of burrowing rodents found in the prairies of North America, ranging from Mexico to Canada, and they are found in several states across the western United States. But it was disturbing to find out that one of the states they lived in was Arizona, but now they are extirpated there, meaning rooted out and destroyed completely, and yet they are native to North America. There's something very disturbing about that to me. Although we have a huge white-tailed deer dilemma here, it's a problem that's so big, but we caused it by all the development of land that we have here. And it's one of those things. I guess maybe managing populations would be a kinder way of doing things, don't you think? 

Mary Stone  05:31

Anyway, thank you, April, for sharing the lovely photos of the Frenchy's field labyrinth now on my must-visit list, and I look forward to seeing prairie dogs in action. But for sure, I won't bring Jolee, whose main mission in life is to chase squirrels. I'm not kidding. When she first moved here, she took off like you would not believe and chase squirrels that used to mock her out until one day she caught one just to play. But since then, the squirrels scatter as soon as they see that white dog with black ears. So, on to this sweet story. It starts like this.

Mary Stone  06:06

 Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. At last, I had some time in my garden on Sunday afternoon. Not much time. But any time brings such joy. Though it's true, I get overwhelmed at how many things need addressing. Then came a quick fix to the overwhelming feelings, tidying Daffodil foliage in style. As much as I love the happy faces of the daffodils grace in their gardens after the flowers fade and the Daffodil foliage begins to flop, well, they're not so pretty. I inherited several daffodils from the previous owner, but it's the many lovelies that my dear friend and design colleague Marty gave me that I especially adore. From the small ones such as Tete-a-Tete' to taller ones such as 'Thalia,' which are fragrant, all white, with multiple blooms on one stem. The all-yellow Narcissus' February Gold' is one of the earliest daffodils to bloom, about the same time as the not-so-common Iris reticulata – a tiny, fragrant iris in glorious blues, white and yellow. Then there's the later white blooming Poet's Daffodil' Pheasant's Eye' with little orange centers.  

Mary Stone  07:15

I cherish the plants Marty has given me. More than that, the plant knowledge she generously shared in the 23 years we've worked together, that knowledge is a gift that I am passing forward to all of my clients that I have the joy of working with. I am so grateful for all that she's taught me.

Mary Stone  07:34

It's vital to allow Daffodil foliage to fade to ensure next year's blooms. One fall, I planted 100 daffodils for a couple who only spent weekends in their Stillwater home. I used to have many daffodils in the lawn, but they're mostly gone now, Ron said. I suggest that we plant new bulbs above the rock wall, choosing the above-mentioned assortment of daffodils to offer blooms from early to late spring.

Mary Stone  07:58

During the early spring, I dropped by to check on Ron's gardens as if I were a mother in waiting. I was thrilled to find some of the new bulbs had bloomed and many others were about to. Then, during a second stop a few weeks before Memorial weekend, I found all the Daffodil foliage was weed whacked down by the lawn service, I'm sure in the spirit of tidying up, not knowing the importance of leaving the foliage standing until it begins to turn yellow, which happens about six weeks after the flowers are spent. Per the American Daffodil Society, leaves removed soon after flowering by mowing or cutting back can severely deplete bulbs. Mystery solved as to why Ron's original Daffodil population was depleted. 

Mary Stone  08:40

While you can just let the fading Daffodil foliage lay, there are tying-up techniques to tidy the foliage. My favorite loosely braiding the leaves reminding me of my long braided locks as a kid. I recently learned you could take one long leaf and wrap it around a clump of others a few inches above the ground to create a standing ponytail. How fun it is to be styling a garden with braids and pigtails.

Mary Stone  09:05

Then there's the tie a knot with a clump of leaves, making a donut-looking thingy in the garden.Or the fold over, like folding socks technique, securing it with a loose rubber band or twine. Not to be confused with the comb over, fellas, just saying. If you tie too tightly, the foliage will be restricted from air circulation and sunlight to photosynthesize, lessening the blooms next year. So, tying the fold over with a few Daffodil leaves may be safer and more stylish.

Mary Stone  09:36

So after planting my potted gardens with herbs mixed with annuals, I tiptoed amongst the daffodils in the afternoon drizzle and played hairstylist. Braids and ponytails now adorn the garden, giving me a sense of accomplishment while providing the daffys time to go dormant. Plus, I twisted a few donuts and folded a few socks just for fun. Let's all be sure to take time to play each day in this garden of life. Garden dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com

Mary Stone  10:06

And as you would guess, I have photos of my hairstyles on the garden dilemmas post. I will put a link in the show notes. And I don't know, it was just fun to do. And I literally worked out in the rain with my pots and I was a muddy mess, and it brought such joy. I hope you get out there, regardless of the weather, and take it all in and just cherish every minute of it because after every storm, the sun will shine, and why not enjoy every part of that cycle? So, thank you for joining me on the screen porch and hearing about prairie dogs and that beautiful labyrinth that April shared. I have a bucket list item now to go visit, and I hope you'll take the time to do the same. And I appreciate all of you that subscribe to the podcast as well as the newsletter, so that they magically appear in your feed. It means so much that our community is growing and learning in the Garden of Life. Thanks again. See you next time.

10:44

You can follow garden dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag. Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.