Redding, Connecticut — For many, it’s a mystery that blooms anew every spring. A field of daffodils — far too many to be growing by chance and far too beautiful to not stop and stroll — seems randomly set along a narrow two-lane road in southwestern Connecticut.
To Patti Pavlick, the field is no mystery. Her aunt and uncle, Bud and Florence McQuade, used to own the land. Pavlick says her uncle planted the daffodils because her aunt loved them so — and because he loved her so, through 60 years of marriage.
“When I drive by, it just brings tears to my eyes because that is how I remember them,” Pavlick told CBS News.
Today, there are roughly 40,000 flowers. After Florence McQuade died, dividing the bulbs to grow more flowers became Bud McQuade’s annual tribute and obsession.
“That was his memory of her,” Pavlick said.
Bud McQuade lived to 103, planting daffodils almost to the very end. After he died in 2019, his property went on the market. It’s a prime building lot, so most thought that would be the end of it.
But neighbor Stacey Steinmetz stepped in, buying the property and the metaphor that comes with it.
“I guess, just like his love grew, the field continues to grow. You know, it’s everlasting and it’s expanding, so I certainly wouldn’t want that to be lost,” Steinmetz told CBS News.
So it stays, an eternal sign of spring and a brilliantly illustrated love story.
Though the spring blossoms have come and gone for this season, the field remains a reminder just how endless love can be.
To contact On the Road, or to send us a story idea, email us: OnTheRoad@cbsnews.com.
