The 2025 US Open
The view from one of our bedroom windows. Does it get better than this?
This week, the answer is yes, it does get better. Last week, I found myself in an airplane being jetted off to the US of A again, this time for the National Daffodil Convention in Reno, Nevada. The National Daffodil Convention is, as the name implies, a Daffodil show made by and for Daffodil enthusiasts from all over the United States. Some time ago, I received an invitation from their president, who invited me to this year’s convention. They had a surprise for me.
I don’t always go to this Convention, as many of my own flowers are in bloom during this time of year as well, but it was cold still in North-Holland, and many Daffodils were still waiting on better temperatures. It was also a good opportunity to visit some of our favourite and oldest customers, White Flower Farm and Colorblends. And my friend Harley of course, who runs Qdaffs, a website the American readers probably already know about. Harley and I could travel to Reno together, as he was going to give a presentation about the growing of Daffodils in The Netherlands. Harley is here almost every year, so there is no American who knows more about the Dutch Daffodil world than he does. 
The first picture was in front of our house, this one is behind it
But before I tell you more about the United States, I would like to remind you of the fact that this week, the flower fields will probably be at their best. If you are in the area and like flower fields, it really is worth it to visit North Holland to have a look. 
The flower picking field next to the Fluwel Warehouse
And if you are in the neighbourhood, please also visit Jacqueline’s Flower Picking Field. She has run this endeavour for a couple of years now, and it gets better every year: There are old-fashioned baskets to collect your flowers in, and loads of different photo opportunities for visitors. And most importantly, you can pick your own bouquet for a very nice price. 
Let’s go back to the USA before I get too distracted. You are probably wondering what one of those Daffodil Conventions even entails. I guess you could also call it the American National Daffodil Show. There are loads of different Daffodils there, all being presented by people from all over the country, all with the goal of having the most beautiful Daffodil of the entire event. 
Most of the Daffodils come in from all over the USA, but some have travelled there all the way from Ireland or the United Kingdom–yes, people take them with them in an airplane. Everyone can join, but naturally, most participants will be from the United States. There is a judge that looks at every Daffodil very precisely, and they have the difficult job of determining which Daffodil deserves to be the champion. 
When I talk about American Daffodil judges, there are two people that deserve a shout-out: Elise Havens and Harold Koopowitz. Both of them are, in my eyes, the best Daffodil hybridizers in America. They absolutely belong to the royalty of the Daffodil world.
It really was a great show, with over 1500 different varieties of Daffodils. From tiny to enormous and in all kinds of shapes. But even more diverse than the flowers are the people: the crowd consists of attendees from all walks of life, all of them with the same problem: they love Daffodils.
Every night, we have dinner together, and we can talk about Daffodils as much as we want. When everyone is together in the dining room, the president gets on stage to address the crowd and says:
"The ADS Gold Medal is awarded by the Honors Committee to “an individual deemed as being worthy of recognition of creative work of a pre-eminent nature in the understanding and advancement of daffodils.” This year’s recipient is known both in the United States and internationally. He has introduced a number of excellent Daffodils, and has registered 84, most of which are from his own breeding program. Some of these are gaining prominence on the show bench. I know of at least two that have received a Gold Ribbon at the local level, and one that has received it at a recent National Show.
He maintains an important collection of both old and new Daffodil cultivars. He is a primary source, and without him, many would be lost.
Since the closure of many major daffodil suppliers in the U.S., he has established a nursery here, and has made available an enormous number of important older and newer cultivars to ADS members that has filled a gap of good quality bulbs.
Last year, he chaired the World Daffodil meeting in The Netherlands that brought Daffodil people together from all over the world.
It is my pleasure to present this year’s Gold Medal to Carlos van der Veek." 
This speech made me very emotional. It is an honor to be recognised by the entire society.
Growing, hybridizing, and selling (in the US, together with Harley) these Daffodils is my favorite thing to do, and it means a lot to me that the American Daffodil Enthusiasts appreciate my work so much. Gestures like this give me even more love for my job, and I feel very fortunate to be able to do this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 
Time to go back to my own garden now, my Daffodils are waiting for me. This week, I have an even bigger smile on my face as I go through all of them.
Kind regards,
Carlos van der Veek
The Easter bunny
