Carrollton, the county seat of Carroll County, is a small Ohio River town established in 1792.  Bordering Carrollton to the west is the confluence of the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers, where a community park sits called Point Park.  This park is a gathering place for festivals and community celebrations as well as one of the two market sites for the Riverview Farmers’ Market.   Over the last six to seven years, the City of Carrollton has put a large focus on improving and developing this park.   Projects to date have included a riverwalk along the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers, an RV park, and a splash park for children.

The Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service sponsored First Impressions, a Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) program, for Carroll County in the summer and fall of 2018.  Results of that program have prompted Carroll County Extension Agents to look for opportunities to contribute to the development of Carrollton’s downtown area, including Point Park.

In Spring 2019, the Carroll County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) initiated the development of a beautification project at Point Park called “Daffodils at the Point.”  Approximately 2.6 acres of Point Park is an open field that is not utilized for parking or future expansion projects of the Carrollton City Council.  This field has few trees, and serves only as a green space which makes it a perfect area to plant flowers, like daffodils.

Daffodils are a hardy perennial, bulb-forming plants that bloom in late winter and spring.  They symbolize “new beginnings” and mark the end of winter.  These plants have a tendency to “naturalize” a large area, meaning they easily reproduce over time to fill a space.  The long-standing bulbs can last for decades, becoming stronger and blooming more as time passes.  Old homesteads, where the houses and buildings are long gone, can sometimes be marked by the daffodils that were planting years before and are still thriving and blooming to this day.  Fields of daffodils, which can range from white to peach to yellow in color, are great for photo opportunities and tourists visits as they add great color being one of the first flowers to bloom in the new growing season.

The “Daffodils at the Point” project includes planting approximately 5000 bulbs over the next three to four years in the underutilized 2.6 acres of Point Park.   With over 32,000 registered cultivars of the daffodil in existence, multiples cultivars will be planted, providing diversity in beauty and education.

The project was presented by the Carroll County Extension Agent for ANR to the Carrollton Mayor, Carroll County Judge/Executive, and the Carrollton/Carroll County Tourism Board.  With their full support, the first phase of bulb planting took place on October 16, 2019.   Over 1300 bulbs of six different cultivars were planted by approximately 30 volunteers from the following groups:   Carroll County Extension Homemakers, Carroll County 4-H, Carroll County Conservation District, Carroll County FFA, and local residents who learned about the project through a Facebook campaign to recruit volunteers outside of the Extension Service.

The Carroll County ANR Agent directed the volunteers and taught planting techniques, while the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, 4-H Agent, and Administrative Assistant divided bulbs for the volunteers and assisted in planting.  The Carroll County Extension District Board funded the project.  The six daffodil cultivars used in this first phase were Ice Follies, King Alfred II, Salome, Juanita, Mount Hood, and Barrett Browning.  An educational booklet with all cultivars planted will be created and distributed to the community and through the local Tourism office to encourage visitors to learn which daffodils they are seeing.

The daffodils are expected to bloom beginning in February or March.