Unseasonably early daffodils prompt wish for cold weather on Vancouver Island
VICTORIA — As residents in parts of British Columbia dig out from recent heavy snowfalls and think fondly of spring, a farmer on southern Vancouver Island is cursing that region’s mild weather and wishing for a cold snap.
Ryan Vantreight is the general manager of Longview Farms, Canada’s largest daffodil farm, just north of Victoria.
Spring-like conditions have coaxed out some early blooms, and Vantreight said he’s scrambling to hire about 20 workers to cut the still-budding flowers before they burst into their full golden glory.
“If you see yellow in the field, I’m seeing red,” Vantreight said of the early season, which he describes as second only to a harvest several years ago that began in January.