It’s been hard to miss Bristol’s love affair with daffodils these past few years.

When they began the Daffodil Project in 2020, the Bristol Garden Club stated their intention to establish one million daffodil bulbs in Bristol, creating a pathway of daffodils through public and private lands. Now in its fourth year, the community effort is well on its way. The Daffodil Project began with hundreds of daffodils planted in the Library and Mrs. Perry’s Gardens, and on Metacom Avenue. Several thousand were sold to residents and businesses for planting on private sites, complementing established displays including Blithewold Mansion’s glorious spring array. An additional 20,000 more bulbs were planted 2021 and 2022.

In October, volunteers added another 10,000 daffodils to Bristol’s streetscape; over the years, the effort has been supported by grants and contributions from businesses and organizations including the Town of Bristol, RWU, Ocean State Job Lot, and Bristol Toyota.

Now it seems there’s a grinch in the flowerbed.

On Friday, May 31, John Twomey, the Project Leader for the URI Master Gardeners who oversees the Daffodil Project at the Veterans Home property, was instructed by Paul Murgo, the administrator of the Veterans Home, to remove the plants from the front entrance — allegedly after telling Twomey two weeks ago to expand the plantings and finish the rest of the island, which is currently grass. The Garden Club, which has invested over $1,200 in the site and provided five crates of bulbs, was told that if they wanted to save the bulbs, they needed to come dig them out immediately.

“From what I’ve heard, despite the fact that the veterans and their visitors loved them, the director thinks the daffodil greenery is messy and he wants them gone and sent orders to the landscaper to remove them immediately,” said Gail Burmeister, Bristol Garden Club President. “I’m baffled and incredulous.”

It is unclear if the demand for removal originated with administrator Paul Murgo or Kasim Yarn, Director of Veterans Affairs for the State of Rhode Island, who allegedly visited the facility last Friday shortly before the anti-daffodil directive was handed down. Reached for comment on Monday morning, Murgo said there would be a statement on the matter coming through the Office of Veterans Affairs, but in spite of several attempts to reach out to that office, no statement was received two days later at press time.

“Last year, the Garden Club donated 1,000 bulbs, and Job Lot donated the iris and daylillies — everyone loved them, the vets loved them, it was beautiful,” said Twomey. “Then Murgo said it didn’t look good because the daffodils died back. He wanted us to dig them up and replant in the fall but it doesn’t work like that. You cut them back after a few weeks, and other things come up. He agreed to that, then they gave me the okay to finish the island.”

“The Garden Club was going to support that,” added Avery.

“Then I got a call, 8:30 Friday morning from Tim Blair (the Veterans Home grounds manager), and he told me somebody came here,” said Twomey. “I don’t want to use names, I don’t know if it’s true, but he supposedly said it looked awful and wanted them all out. Then I talked to Paul Murgo and he said that either we take them out or he’d have them taken out. And that’s why we’re here today, these bulbs are expensive, we don’t want them destroyed.”

“There was a lot of prep, planning, and money spent to do this,” said Twomey. “It’s a sad day, not only for us but for the veterans.”

“If this was 6 weeks ago and that gentlemen had seen the gardens in bloom, we wouldn’t be here,” said Avery.

Reached for comment, Town Administrator Steven Contente said it was “unfortunate” and suggested there was room in the War Memorial Garden adjacent to the Burnside Building for at least some of the bulbs and would reach out to the Garden Club.

Twomey, Avery, and Burmeister are hopeful that residents who like daffodils will reach out to their state and local representatives about the matter. For more information on the Daffodil Project, visit www.bristolrigc.org.