Sheffield Land Trust’s Spring Bulb Giveaway

The Sheffield Land Trust will hold a spring bulb giveaway on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10am to 2pm in the parking lot of Sheffield’s Bushnell-Sage Library, which is partnering with the Land Trust to make this event possible. The bulbs are a gift to the community, to bring beauty and an early spring treat to people, and to give bees and other pollinators important food at a time when nectar and pollen sources are scarce.

The Land Trust planned the event after last spring’s popular giveaway of lilac seedlings. That event was hosted by the Sheffield Tree Project, an affiliate of the Land Trust, when the Tree Project’s usual Arbor Day celebration couldn’t be held because of the pandemic.

At the bulb giveaway, people will have a choice of six types of early bloomers: white daffodils, squill, glory of the snow, snow drops, species crocus, and a particularly squirrel-proof type of crocus known as “tommies.” The Land Trust will give away 1,000 of each type of bulb, one bag per person, with five daffodil bulbs to a bag and ten per bag of the other types.

Explaining why these particular species were chosen, Sari Hoy, a member of the Land Trust and of the Tree Project, said, “With spring temperatures warming up earlier than usual because of climate change, pollinators like bees are waking up before their usual food sources are available. To help these essential actors in our ecology, we chose bulbs that flower very early in the season.”

Susan Rothschild, president of the Land Trust, said, “Flower lovers and anyone concerned about the precipitous decline in bee numbers in recent years will want to participate in this fun event. We hope lots of people will join us in beautifying the landscape in this way.”

She also advises people to come early. At the April 25 lilac giveaway, the 60 seedlings that the Tree Project had on hand were gone in about 20 minutes. Hoy and other volunteers took the names of families that came during the rest of the advertised time and ordered 350 additional seedlings that were distributed later. This time, with the large number of bulbs already ordered, it will be first-come-first-serve.

Everyone who comes to the bulb giveaway must adhere to all pandemic precautions, including wearing a mask and observe social distancing rules.

For questions, email shefland@bcn.net, call 229-0234, or visit the Sheffield Land Trust on Facebook.