Dancing with daffodils at Laurel Ridge Farm

Dancing with daffodils at Laurel Ridge Farm

The daffodils at Laurel Ridge Farm in Litchfield at their peak in late April 2024.A visit to the farm on April 10 showed that only a few daffodils were in bloom.Peak may be in another week or two.

Photo by Robin Roraback

“And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.”

Those lines, from the poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” by William Wordsworth, are inscribed on a stone marker at Laurel Ridge Farm in the Northfield section of Litchfield.

It rings true to visitors who go to see the more than ten thousand daffodils and narcissus that were planted at Laurel Ridge Farm beginning in the early1940’s. The bulbs were planted in a field considered too rocky to plant crops. The stone marker that holds the poem by Wordsworth also explains: “These daffodils were planted for all to enjoy by Virginia and Remy Morosani, 1941.”

Since then, the Morosani family has maintained the daffodils and set up a foundation for their care. More bulbs were planted over the years. Maintenance includes digging up and separating bulbs when they become over-crowded.

A visit on April 10 found that only a few daffodils were in bloom. A couple who goes yearly and had come to check predicted, “Maybe a week or two more until peak.”

The daffodils at Laurel Ridge Farm in Litchfield. Photo by Robin Roraback

From about mid-April to early May, thousands of visitors are welcomed to see the daffodils. There are three rules: No dogs, no picnicking, and no picking or stepping on the flowers. They also ask that no one park on the east side of the narrow road so that emergency vehicles gain access if needed.

It is a magical experience to walk the more than ten acres of meandering paths, with woods and ponds, surrounded on all sides by daffodils and narcissus in shades of yellow from pale, almost white to golden yellow.

The Visit Litchfield CT Facebook page (www.facebook.com/VisitLitchfieldCT) posts updates and will post when the daffodils peak. Laurel Ridge Daffodils Facebook page also posts updates on when the peak is expected.

Laurel Ridge Farm is located at 66 Wigwam Road, 1.3 miles south of the intersection withRoute 254. A sign for Laurel Ridge Farm is at the beginning of Wigwam Road. There is no admission fee. It is open from sunrise to sunset while the daffodils bloom. After that, it is closed until the next year.

Latest News

Trade Secrets: a glamorous garden event with a deeper mission

Heavy stone garden ornaments, a specialty of Judy Milne Antiques from Kingston, at Trade Secrets 2025.

Christine Bates

Tucked away on Porter Street in downtown Lakeville, Project SAGE is an unassuming building from a street view. But cross the threshold a week before Trade Secrets — one of the region’s biggest gardening events, long associated with Martha Stewart and glamorous plants of all varieties — and you’ll find a bustling world of employees and volunteers getting ready for the organization’s most important event of the year.

“It’s not usually like this,’ laughed Project SAGE director Kristen van Ginhoven. “But with Trade Secrets just around the corner, it’s definitely like this.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Two artists, two Hartford stages, one shared life

Caroline Kinsolving and Gary Capozzielo at home in Salisbury with their dogs, Petruchio and Beatrice

Provided
"He played his violin, I worked on my lines, we walked the dog, and suddenly we were circling each other perfectly."
Caroline Kinsolving

Actor Caroline Kinsolving and violinist Gary Capozziello enjoy their quiet life with their two dogs in Salisbury, yet are often pulled apart to perform on distant stages in far-flung cities. Currently, the planets have aligned, and both are working in Hartford, across Bushnell Park from one another. Bridgewater native Kinsolving is starring in “Circus Fire,” the current production of TheaterWorks Hartford, while Capozziello is a violinist and assistant concertmaster of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. While Kinsolving hates being away from home, she feels the distance nourishes their relationship.

“We are guardians of each other’s confidence and self-esteem,” she said.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Summer exhibition opens at Wassaic Project

Nate King, “When I Was Younger And Now That I’m Older,” 2026, Digital projection, digital animation, photography.

photo courtesy Nate King

The Wassaic Project, the 8,000-square-foot, seven-story former grain elevator transformed into a vibrant arts space, opens its 2026 Summer Exhibition, “Because, now is the time of monsters,” on Saturday, May 16, from 3-6 p.m. at Maxon Mills, launching a season-long presentation featuring 39 artists working across installation, performance, video and sculpture.

The opening celebration will include an afternoon of exhibitions and live programming throughout the historic mill building and its surrounding spaces. Gallery and Art Nest hours run from 12-6 p.m., with special presentations scheduled throughout the day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss to host inaugural International Piano Competition
Murong Yang ’08, a founding supporter of the Hotchkiss International Music Competition, helped establish the program through the Yang and Hamabata families to support young musicians and artistic excellence.
Provided

The Hotchkiss School will launch a major new addition to its arts programming with the inaugural Hotchkiss International Piano Competition, a three-day event taking place May 15–17 in Katherine M. Elfers Hall.

The competition will bring together young pianists ages 10 to 18 from around the world, with participants representing the United States, Thailand, Korea, China, Canada, and Azerbaijan. Performers will compete across multiple age divisions, culminating in final rounds that will be open to the public, offering audiences the opportunity to hear a wide range of emerging international talent in performance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Open Studios by Upstate Art Weekend invites visitors inside 240 workspaces

“Untitled” by Christine Domanic, one of the 37 artists featured in “Earthen Plot,” opening Friday, May 15.

Provided

Art lovers will have an opportunity to step inside working artist’s studios across the region next weekend as Open Studios by Upstate Art Weekend returns Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The annual event invites the public into the creative spaces of 240 artists throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskills, offering an intimate look at artistic practices across disciplines while fostering direct connections between artists and visitors.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.