Daffodil Capital of Texas (Round Rock nickname)
Round Rock was declared the “Daffodil Capital of Texas” by the Texas legislature in 2003. Round Rock holds an annual Daffodil Festival; the daffodil association began in the 1990s when Allen Baca helped to establish the Round Rock Senior Center and its annual daffodil bulb sale fundraiser.
Round Rock is, some claim, not the best Texas climate for daffodils, despite the “capital of Texas” designation.
City of Round Rock - Allen R. Baca
Who was Allen R. Baca?
(...)
Baca’s love of planting influenced the first annual Daffodil Bulb Sale for the senior center in efforts to increase the beautification of Round Rock. Several members and volunteer groups served as gardeners to plant the bulbs throughout the community. The tradition continues with the sale of hundreds of bulbs annually as a fundraiser for the Round Rock Senior Center and the planting of bulbs annually along the city’s flower beds by Parks and Recreation staff.
In addition, the Round Rock Senior Citizens Foundation hosts the Daffodil Festival each spring at the Round Rock Senior Activity Center in conjunction with the Daffodil bulb sale to celebrate the Daffodil tradition. This upcoming event, which will take place on Saturday April 1, celebrates spring with live music, arts and crafts vendors, a raffle and various performance groups and entertainment. (http://www.daffodilcapitaloftx.org).
In May 2003, the Round Rock Senior Foundation members furthered the impact of the Daffodil sale, by leading the efforts for the City of Round Rock to be officially recognized as “The Daffodil Capital of Texas” by the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas.
Round Rock: Dafodil Capital of Texas
Daffodil Festival—2007
Be sure to mark your calendar for Saturday, March 24, 9 AM to 4 PM. It will be a great day of family fun!
We’ll be at Round Rock’s new Allen Baca Activities Center, 301 West Bagdad Avenue, Building #2. Come see it!!
Texas Gardening Forum
Posted by rockyn Austx8b (My Page) on
Tue, May 16, 06 at 15:49
(...)
Here in Round Rock (just north of Austin) we are supposed to be the Daffodil Capital of Texas. Bah! Love daffies, but they sure don’t seem to like this area like they did North Texas (DFW area, clay soils and some actual winter).
Official Capital Designations - Texas State Library
Daffodil Capital of Texas
Round Rock
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 26, 78th Legislature, Regular Session (2003)
Texas Legislature
S.C.R. No. 26
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The City of Round Rock is following in the footsteps of countless Texas pioneers by planting daffodils, a perennial American favorite whose vivid blooms continue to beautify every corner of the state; and
WHEREAS, In 1994, Allen Baca, a Round Rock resident and prominent member of its senior community, approached the town’s Senior Citizens Foundation with the idea of initiating a springtime
beautification project; his proposal won endorsement, and in 1994 and 1995 senior citizens planted numerous daffodil bulbs throughout the city, chiefly in such public areas as city rights-of-way, parks, and the grounds of schools and churches; and
WHEREAS, The foundation expanded the program in 1996, when it began selling bulbs to the public as a fund-raiser for programs benefiting the community’s older residents; each year, the foundation makes available approximately 30,000 bulbs for this purpose, and area citizens have taken this compelling cause to heart, extending the focus of the plantings to residential areas as well as public spaces; and
WHEREAS, For the past eight years as well, the foundation has sponsored the highly popular Daffodil Festival; a family-oriented event held the first Saturday in March at the downtown Senior Citizens Center, the festival coincides with the blooming of the daffodils and celebrates the arrival of spring with food, games, entertainment, and arts and crafts booths; and
WHEREAS, The hardy, colorful daffodil is a fitting emblem for the City of Round Rock, which traces its roots back to the mid-19th century and the community that grew up around Jacob Harrell’s
blacksmith shop on Brushy Creek; the settlers who stopped in Round Rock and at myriad other points in the Lone Star State were quick to beautify their surroundings with the durable daffodil, and the
progeny of those plants still bloom around the sites of old homesteads and in the midst of innumerable country cemeteries; and
WHEREAS, Through its commitment to its senior citizens and its ambition to further enhance the attractiveness of this historic community, the town of Round Rock has embraced the annual planting
of masses of daffodils, and it is appropriate that the affinity between this fine Central Texas city and this flower beloved by Texans since colonial days be duly recognized; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby designate Round Rock as the official Daffodil Capital of Texas.