Thousands of daffodils bloomed in Sewickley Heights as part of resident's project to thank mayor

A Sewickley Heights resident had thousands of daffodils planted in honor of Mayor John Oliver III.

About 19,000 of the flowers bloomed last month.

They were planted in the fall along the hillside at the Fern Hollow Nature Center as part of a project by Elise Keely and her friend, Al Barbour.

The flowers could be seen at the intersection of Merryman and Glen Mitchel roads as well as Scaife and Glen Mitchel roads.

“Daffodils have played an important part in the history of Sewickley Heights over the years as there have been a number of large swaths planted many years ago,” Keely said. “We thought that it would be fun to continue the beautify the borough.”

Planting was done by landscape contractor Tony Guy and his crew.

Keely said it was a thank you to Oliver for his many conservation contributions.

“John has dedicated his life to conservation and has been instrumental in putting aside huge amounts of land into conservation throughout the commonwealth,” Keely said. “I did select daffodils, as the deer do not eat them, and they will naturalize nicely over the coming years.”

Oliver did not return multiple calls seeking comment.

Oliver joined the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1970 and became its president in 1978. He held the position until 1995, when he became the first secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The game commission’s Board of Commissioners created the John C. Oliver Wildlife Conservation Lifetime Achievement Award last year to honor those who make substantial improvements to the state’s wildlife and natural resources.

Oliver, a former Navy lieutenant who served in Vietnam, has been an avid outdoorsman and an advocate for hunting and scientific management of the state’s wildlife.

Daffodils are a hardy perennial that comes back year after year, spreading and often naturalizing.

They are usually planed in October and bloom late winter or early spring.

Keely, a landscape designer from New York City, moved to Sewickley Heights about 35 years ago.

Her first daffodil planting project in the borough was in 2021.

She and Barbour had 5,500 daffodils inter-planted with Christmas ferns along Country Club Road.

“We had such a positive reaction from that initial planting that Al decided that we should find another spot in the borough to launch into another planting,” she said. “Barbour and I are planning on doing another planting this coming fall and are working with the borough on our next location.

“We feel that this endeavor is our way of beautifying the borough, and the fun part of this is it will be similar to ‘Finding Waldo.’”