GLADEWATER — GLADEWATER — Once again, the daffodils are in bloom — but perhaps for not as long.
About 60 years ago, one woman transformed a 916-acre tract of land near Gladewater into a paradise that blooms each year with thousands of daffodils. Drought and weather conditions in the past year are causing the daffodils to wilt sooner than usual, so East Texans who want to view the flowers should do so before Tuesday.
Carolyn Johnson said she will likely close Mrs. Lee’s Daffodil Garden on Tuesday. The garden, free to visitors, is at 21600 CR 3103 in Gladewater. It’s open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily but closes if there is rain.
“Mrs. Lee left a small trust to maintain the garden,” Johnson said. “I keep it the way Mrs. Lee wanted it. I know how hard my grandparents worked here.”
When T.W. and Helen Lee first married, they had little to their name, Johnson said. T.W. Lee struck oil in the East Texas oil boom and the couple became wealthy, eventually buying land outside of Gladewater to furnish gravel to pave roads and areas of the rodeo grounds.
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