Daffodils Planted Around Rochester to Celebrate City's "Golden Bicentennial"

ROCHESTER, MI — The city of Rochester offered 10,000 daffodil bulbs to residents and businesses to celebrate Rochester's "golden bicentennial." On Sept. 24, visitors at the Downtown Rochester Farmers Market received a dozen free daffodil bulbs to plant outside their business or homes.

The daffodils will bloom this coming spring, right in time to celebrate Rochester's 200th birthday and the 50 year anniversary of Rochester becoming a city. Rochester was the first settlement founded in Oakland County in 1817. In 1967, Rochester was incorporated as a city, The Rochester Post reports.

Since these two milestones fall in the same year, the city is referring to 2017 as the "golden bicentennial." Fiftieth anniversaries are historically known as the golden anniversary, which is why the city chose golden daffodils for the visual representation of the anniversary.

The city also offered 10,000 daffodil bulbs to residents and businesses last September. Rochester paid $4,000 for the bulbs.

“They came up this year and they are gorgeous,” Rochester Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Kristi Trevarrow said of the first batch of bulbs, according to The Rochester Post. “We got them from a company out in Howell, and they assured us that these are going to be a nice bright-yellow bud, and they are gorgeous.”

Deputy City Manager Nik Banda encourages Rochester residents to plant the bulbs to show support for their community.

“Folks coming into town will surely know something special is up,” Banda said, according to The Rochester Post.

Photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks/Flickr