It’s early October. Fall will soon hit full force, with a spectacular array of colors. It’s Westport’s most gorgeous time of year — rivaled only by spring, 6 months from now.
As the leaves turn, Debra Kandrak is thinking about daffodils.
It’s time, she says, to “paint the town yellow.”
Rotary at Church Lane and Myrtle Avenue (Photo/Dan Woog)
Kandrak is the woman behind the town’s 4th annual daffodil-planting project. Her efforts over the past 3 years have resulted in an explosion of flowers, from neighborhoods like Greens Farms to the Westport Library, Cribari Bridge, traffic island and the entrances to Staples High and Bedford Middle Schools.
Groups like the Westport Garden Club and National Charity League have helped. But Kandrak is the driving force, helping the project, um, flower.
Willowbrook Cemetery daffodils (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
This year’s theme is “In Memory of a Loved One Lost.” Kandrak encourages Westporters to plant flowers to honor those who died in the pandemic — or any other time.
Kandrak also hopes to plant a Memory Garden for Layla Malon, the young child killed last June. She is looking for ideas for an appropriate site.
Meanwhile, she urges Westporters to plant daffodils wherever they can. Sites include roadsides in front of homes, around mailboxes and street signs, in front of businesses, or anywhere else needing a pop of color.
(Photo/Scott Smith)
Kandrak’s goal is for Westport to have an annual Daffodil Festival, like Nantucket’s.
For now, please email debra.kandrak@raveis.com. Let her know where you’ve planted your flowers. Next spring — just 6 months from now — she’ll take a photo.
Sherwood Island Connector, at the Post Road. (Photos courtesy of Debra Kandrak)