Stop and smell the flowers at nearby Daffodil Hill

Four hundred thousand daffodils. That is what brings over 4,000 people to Daffodil Hill in Volcano year after year.

The ranch, privately owned by the McLaughlin family, has become a premiere destination for Northern California flower lovers. Here visitors take pictures and picnics, stroll through the grounds and celebrate the season.

Best of all, there is no admission fee, although bright yellow kettles are positioned around the entrance for donations (all donations received are spent on purchasing bulbs for the following year).

“Look at all of the different varieties here,” said Pleasanton resident Katie Grieco to her daughter, Carolyn Williams, while strolling through one of the rolling lawns. “I really didn’t know there were so many species of daffodils.”

The pair drove over two hours especially to see the daffodils here, after Grieco watched a program on PBS about Daffodil Hill. The drive, they agreed, was worth it.

It’s really beautiful here,” said Williams. “I like all of the details.”

Several red dirt paths lead to over 300 different cream and lemon colored varieties. Daffodils are showcased in raised flower boxes, on rolling grassy lawns, among antique farm equipment, and in flower pots around some of the old, wooden shacks. Peacocks strut through the flowers, craning their necks with every step. Wood benches and picnic tables are scattered around the property, inviting visitors to sit a spell.

Colusa resident Nancy Schnyder stops in front of one bench and gathers her husband, friend and 91-year-old mother-in-law to pose for a picture. The group is surrounded by sunny yellow bulbs, under a bluebell sky, as she clicks the shudder.

“It’s just gorgeous. I’ve been wanting to come here for years but I always miss it,” said Schnyder, noting that the ranch is only open for a few weeks in March and April. “I found the phone number for this place on Saturday and decided we would come today. It’s a perfect day.”

Schnyder particularly enjoyed meeting Mary Ryan, trustee of the ranch and granddaughter of Arthur Burbeck McLaughlin and Lizzie Van Vorst McLaughlin who established the ranch in 1887. She spends most days seated in a green patio chair at the welcome area.

“Daffodils grow well here. We have miserable red soil but evidently it has everything that they need,” the 82-year old Ryan said. Behind her are black and white historical photos of the ranch, of her parents and grandparents and articles about the ranch. A guest registry notebook is placed on one wooden table, inviting people to scribe their name and hometown. It’s a way that the McLaughlin family can tally how many people have visited each year.

Ryan has been part of the Daffodil Hill tradition all of her life and she continues to staff the ranch along with her three sons and several good friends during the few weeks that Daffodil Hill is open to the public.

She still enjoys meeting first-timers as well as those who have made it a tradition to bring their families each year.

For Citrus Heights resident Ileane Hamlin, coming back to Daffodil Hill is a homecoming of sorts.

“I’ve been here only once before — in 1959,” she said. “I was very young.”

This time, Hamlin has brought her husband, Jack, her son, Jeff, and her daughter-in-law, Julie. They all sit at a picnic table, covered by a classic blue and white checkered tablecloth, with a spread that includes cheese, white wine, hummus, pita bread and potato chips.

As they enjoy the sunshine and their surroundings, Hamlin notes that the place is bigger than she remembers. The charm of this place, however, remains.

“It’s beautiful. It is as nice as it was back in ‘59,” declared Hamlin.

Daffodil Hill is open mid-March to mid-April, 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting. To get to Daffodil Hill, take Highway 88 to Pine Grove. Turn north on Pine Grove- Volcano Road and follow it until it turns into Rams Horn Grade. Follow Rams Horn Grade to Daffodil Hill. Admission is free. For more information, call 296-7048.

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