Photo-a-Day  (Sunday, 11th May, 2014)

Nice shot Ron( Haigh hall again hey). Wordsworth at its best. Do they encourage "gatherers"? Thanks Ron.

So young, so innocent

Gatherers mmmmm I would call them thieves.

By picking these Daffodils these kids are not only spoiling the display but are also spoiling next years because your supposed to leave them taking in the sunlight which converts food to the bulbs that store nutrients for next year.

The age of innocence picking daffs. Is it right or wrong? If every child picked a handful of daffs then the park would soon be bare. Are the flowers not there for everyone to enjoy? without the mindless few taking them home or worst still just throwing them away when they tire of them

I initially saw this image without reading the comments and my first thought was, how long will it take for someone to complain about these children picking a few flowers. I would imagine that the spoils will be handed to parents with big smiles from all concerned. Or maybe we shouldn't plant flowers at all to stop this sort of thing from happening, how about that for an alternative. Nice picture Ron.

I've done a similar thing when I was young ..... once. My Mum told me not to do it again. Mick, it is the leaves which absorb the sunlight for building up the energy stores, not the flowers.

Paul these daffs are planted for the enjoyment of everyone not just the few .Has I have said most are thrown onto the ground after being stolen.How would you feel if someone came into your garden and helped themselves to your flowers.

There has got to be more to Wigan than Haigh Hall.This location has been flogged to death on photo a day I really do appreciate the time and effort that all the photographers put in to bring us photo a day, but please!!! Give Haigh Hall a rest.

I would blame the parents, I certainly wouldn't have allowed my kids to do that.

for gods sake let kids be kids ,has none of yu lot ever been ,little ,im sure thers plenty to go round ,honestly ,

its thef and vandalism, nothing less

SEND THEM TO THE COLONIES

This kind of thing needs nipping in the bud while the kids are still young because if its allowed to go on who knows what they will be pinching next.

Flowers are for all to see and the bees and insects to also enjoy leave them were they are in the ground

No leave the kids there being kids, and send Syd to the colonies, more of our beautiful country park please.

Well said Mick, peterp, Syd and Bren.

I realise that children WILL pick daffs, right or wrong, but if they would take them home for their Mums to put in a vase of water for a few days I could condone it, but I have seen them time and time again just pick them and throw then away. They are living things just left to die and the bulbs won't send up further flowers next year. I pick handfuls of thrown-away daffs off the ground from our local park every year just to give them a few days' life in a bit of water.

Did indeed pick flowers when a child, many of them. Dandelions, buttercups, daisies etc. all from edges of pavements and buildings.

get a life

Mick, I think you will find that all professional growers of daffodil bulbs cut off the flowers as soon as they start to show colour. The reason for this is so that the plant's energy is then directed back into the bulb, which increases in size and later divides, thus forming two plants, where previously there was only one. By cutting the flowers, next year's display will actually be increased and not decereased.

The reason that a plant produces flowers is so that bees and other insects are attracted to it for loinnation mpurposes. After pollination has occured, the flowers dies off and produces a seed pod, the swelling on the end of a daffodil stem after the flower has faded. It takes a lot of energy for the plant to do this and if the flower has been removed before fading,as I said earlier, the energy is re-directed back into the bulb.

Having said all that, why not let the children enjoy the flowers? I'm sure you did when you were young. Children grow up too quickly these days.

I have got a life, thankyou; I would like the flowers to have one too.

Oh ,for heavens sake.!!!