By Kendrick Brown

University of Maryland community members assembled to plant 25,000 daffodils on the front patio of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union on Wednesday, Nov. 5, according to Richard Rupert, the university’s associate director of landscaping services.

The event, “Planting Joy at STAMP”, started as one of the many landscaping projects the Facilities Management department does around campus, Rupert said. This project, in particular, aimed to add daffodils to the front patio of Stamp to have plants that would bloom in the spring

The flowers are expected to rise next semester. Daffodils typically bloom around March or April, according to a Pro Landscapes chart.

Facilities Management originally planned to handle the project alone, but that changed when Rupert spoke with Stamp Director Marsha Guenzler-Stevens. According to Rupert, she asked if they could make it an event for volunteers. 

Guenzler-Stevens said the event was made a volunteer opportunity to help build community. She added that Stamp is a community center for UMD, and student involvement in every aspect only helps to strengthen the connection people have to it.

“If we all have an investment, and we’re coming back in the spring to go, ‘There’s my daffodil,’ then there’s a greater investment in place, the beauty, the plants,” Guenzler-Stevens said.

Guenzler-Stevens also said this activity could give students a morale boost as final exams and projects start to ramp up, because regardless of how their classes go, they will still have the daffodils to look forward to in the spring.

“It gives you something to hope for, like you’re like, ‘I’m gonna come back because spring’s coming,'” Guenzler-Stevens said.

Junior environmental science and policy major Eliana Matthews, who attended the event, enjoyed coming out to plant on the patio.

“It was nice to meet people, and I think this will look cute in the spring when they leave,” Matthews said.

She connected the event to her own major, bringing up how the aesthetic value of the environment is often overlooked despite how much work is put into it.

“People have to put in the work to make things look good,” Matthews said. “And I think that work is important.”

Rupert said they chose daffodils because of their size and color. The golden flower is expected to grow up to 18-20 inches. According to Rupert, daffodils are a sign that spring is coming after the long winter months.

“When you see bulbs pop out of the ground, it’s like we’re almost out of this doggone winter,” Rupert said.

Guenzler-Stevens gave another reason for planting daffodils, noting the school’s colors.

“They’re gold, you know?” she said. “So we get red, we get gold, we get the white pillars, you know, the black railing, so we have all the colors.”

Guenzler-Stevens plans to do more events like this in the future to help build further connections between all members of the UMD community.

“All those events where you’re in community, you’re doing something with your hand, is a great way to build a greater sense of community, but also deal with the stress that is inherently college,” Guenzler-Stevens said.

Featured Image: UMD community members planting daffodils on the Stamp Student Union’s front patio on Nov. 5. Photo by Miller Rogers-Tetrick.