The daffodil field at Parsons Reserve in Dartmouth, Massachusetts is a beautiful spot to visit in the spring. It also has some history behind it.

“The daffodils were planted in the 1940s during World War II. So there was an embargo on bulbs, we couldn’t get bulbs from Europe,” explained Kendra Parker, the Development and Outreach Specialist with the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust. 

“So, Raymond Petty planted daffodils here for sale. So, this was a commercial flower farm. And the war ended and the flowers remained.” 

27 varieties of daffodils 

Eighty years later, thousands of Petty’s daffodils are still blooming. 

There are currently 27 varieties on the property, according to the trust. The nonprofit is currently working to protect more than 5,500 acres in Dartmouth. Before the group acquired Parsons Reserve in the early 2000s, the daffodil field was technically private property and a hidden secret only known to locals. Now, thousands of people visit each spring, and Daffodil Ranger Suzi Bouveron is the one who greets them. 

“Acre and a half of happy”

“I love the reaction of people that come. It’s magical. It’s like an acre and a half of happy. People walk up and their faces are just filled with joy,” Bouveron told WBZ-TV.  
 
“It’s really peaceful and serene. You can hear the little babbling brook over there. We love to just sit on the little bridges and just let the time pass, listen to the birds, it’s beautiful to be in nature,” said Dartmouth resident Erica Jimenez.  

“The daffodils are my favorite flower. I love trail walks. It’s a really nice way to get some exercise and reconnect with nature,” said Zoe Gortz, who was visiting the daffodil field for her birthday.  
 
The best time to visit the daffodil field is now through the first week of May. The Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust does suggest bringing a $5 donation that goes towards maintaining the field and the trail.  
 
“Everyone is so excited. Its spring in Dartmouth when the flowers are in bloom,” Parker added.

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Despite the White House’s aggressive moves to slash federal spending, House leaders also said their new budget plan does not build in any direct contingencies for potential cuts to federal aid, which have already come at breakneck speed as Trump implements his second-term agenda.

State Representative Aaron Michlewitz, the chamber’s budget chief, said their plan going forward will involve “monitoring how the situation is in Washington [and] being ready to pivot when necessary.”

“We can’t be paralyzed by the situation that’s taking place in Washington,” Michlewitz said. “We need to still be moving our budget forward, be aggressive in terms of our support for our constituents, and not get caught up, try to keep blinders on and build the best budget with the information that we have.”

House Speaker Ron Mariano told reporters that Trump has begun wreaking “havoc” on programs on which residents rely. The Trump administration, for example, is closing the Boston Head Start office, which administers free care to families in need. The House budget includes $18.5 million in Head Start funds.

“Government can be both fiscally responsible and an agent of good,” the Quincy Democrat said.

The House budget included several items that amounted to the chamber’s first meaningful response to the Trump administration so far, nearly three months into his presidency.

Mariano said the House budget would include a “significant increase” in funding — to $82.5 million, a roughly 7 percent increase from last year — for Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office, just shy of the total number Campbell requested last month as she’s waged several legal fights against the Trump administration. That amount is $6.8 million more than the $76 million Healey’s January budget would allocate to Campbell, a sum that would be less than what Campbell received during the last fiscal year.

The extra funds are designed “to ensure that AG Campbell can continue to push back against any unconstitutional actions taken by the Trump administration.”

Lawmakers also allocated $5 million to a new immigration legal assistance fund that would be distributed as grants to organizations who assist non-violent offenders. Another $1 million will go to a new gender-affirming care program to community health centers, as the federal government has cut funding to organizations that administer transgender care.

The House also included a measure designed to alleviate Massachusetts’ exorbitant housing costs by ending renter-paid broker’s fees in many situations, which renters typically pay to secure a home or apartment. The House plan would prohibit prospective renters from being charged a broker’s fee if they did not “initiate contact with the broker” during their housing search.

Their proposal comes after Healey included a measure in her own budget requiring the party that hires a broker, usually the landlord, to pay for brokers’ fees, after she said they “should be abolished” in January. The Senate included a similar change in its version of a sweeping housing bill last year, but it failed to make it into the final version of the law passed last July.

The House also allocated $275 million for the state’s emergency shelter system, $50 million less than what Healey’s budget had suggested. It would be far less than the $1 billion the state has committed in total to the program this fiscal year, but, Michlewitz said, reflects the state’s efforts to rein in costs, including instituting a 4,000-family cap starting this December.

The Healey administration said Wednesday that fewer than 5,000 families were in the system as of this week, the first time it’s dipped below that level since the summer of 2023.

The Trump administration has already begun cutting aid tabbed for Massachusetts on several fronts. It has already sought cuts to school aid and health funding, and Healey’s office on Wednesday said the Trump administration canceled another $90 million in disaster prevention aid for Massachusetts communities from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Healey said that move “ripped the rug out from under” 18 cities statewide that had planned to upgrade local infrastructure to withstand natural disasters.

Meanwhile, Congress is pursuing a spending blueprint that Democrats and state officials warn could mean deep cuts to Medicaid, through which the state is reimbursed billions of dollars each year for its MassHealth program. In all, the state budget typically leans on roughly $16 billion in federal aid — most of which is tied to health insurance for 2 million Massachusetts residents, including children, low-income families, and those with disabilities.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout. Anjali Huynh can be reached at anjali.huynh@globe.com.