AUBURN ? Carl Smith enjoys watching people as they catch their first glimpse of the daffodils he has planted around his home.

There aren’t just a few thousand daffodils — there are more than 25,000.

The expression on visitors’ faces is what keeps this retired man planting daffodils year after year. He has been working on his collection of the bright yellow flowers for about 20 years.

Smith’s love for daffodils came after he planted 200 tulips on the ridge of his backyard. Deer ate every plant. So he started to look for a plant that deer wouldn’t eat. Daffodil bulbs are poisonous, so deer and other animals usually don’t touch them, Smith said.

Smith adds daffodil bulbs almost yearly, bringing the total this year to between 25,000 and 30,000, he said. He plants and maintains the flowers by himself.

Two years ago was a difficult year for Smith and the daffodils. It was warm, and then the weather turned very cold. “Last year was fair, but they were still recovering from that freeze,” Smith said. “I think this is the best year I’ve had so far.”

Hundreds of Smith’s daffodils can be spotted as people drive west of Auburn. But many people just can’t comprehend how many he has planted until they visit.

Even when visitors pull into the drive, they can’t see all of the beauty Smith has created. It isn’t until they walk behind his house that they get the full view of the yellow daffodils dancing in the breeze.

The daffodils stretch for four acres. They wind in and out of trees and sway gently as the breeze picks up near the north end of the Wakarusa River, which weaves its way around the flowers on Smith’s property.

“This is a hobby that got out of hand,” Smith said with a laugh.

Smith welcomes people onto his property to view the daffodils, but he asks that they respect his land and his flowers.

He doesn’t charge people to look because it keeps the pressure off of him. If he did charge, he said, he would feel pressured to keep everything perfect. By letting others look at what he has created for free, he can just enjoy the beauty of the flowers and let nature take its course, he said.

The daffodils, which are King Alfreds and Ice Follies, are considered to be early blooming, Smith said. Smith’s daffodils should last another week or so, he said.

“I have fun watching other people enjoy them,” he said.