Daffodils seem to be the very essence of spring! After a long, cold winter almost any flower or sprig of green would be welcome and daffodils doubly so for their beauty, cheerful color, and fragrance.
Then they are so easy to grow and so rewarding. Even a bulb or two will make a good-sized clump in a few years—a clump with dozens of flowers.
Winter will not have bowed out in my garden when the first bright yellow daffodil, appears. It has become a symbol for me—a welcome herald and bright assurance that at last spring is on its way.
No other narcissus variety which I have grown will flower so early—shortly after the first yellow crocus early in March. One year FEBRUARY GOLD opened in a sheltered spot by the house on March 4.
Next, I look for the perfumed small white flowers of bush honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima, and with them white crocus and the first sprigs of bloom from the earliest flowering forsythia, SPRING GLORY.
By mid-March, many clumps of FEBRUARY GOLD are blooming brightly despite the ravages of lingering winter. In the foreground, red-tinged Leaf-buds of perennial Euphorbia polychroma are pushing up and tightly furled leaves of pulmonaria show their dark red reverses.
Tulip species add gay and surprisingly early blooms. THE FIRST, a named hybrid of Tulipa Kaufmanniana opens a few hours to a day before the species. These small tulips are sprightly in cream and rose. Then DIOTIMA, a huge trumpet daffodil of brightest gold, almost startles with its size and brilliant hue. DIOTIMA is the forerunner of a succession of blooms from the trumpet-flowered daffodils.
Low-growing pulmonarias show deep pink buds when daffodil SILVER STAR blooms above them. This fine old-timer opens a delicate tint of primrose-yellow, paling to cream. SILVER STAR has been in my garden for many years and has been so generous with bloom and increase. Around it grow the dainty glory-of-the-snow (chionodoxa) which provides color contrast with vivid blue, starry flowers a few inches high.
Purple crocus soon appears and the unusual bronze purple of Lenten roses (Helleborus). Perhaps on another day there will be a carpet of deepest blue grape-hyacinths (muscari) and mingling with them the open, bright blue flowers and silver and green foliage of pulmonaria, Then white scillas flower here and there and with them the RED EMPEROR tulips.
Primula cashmeriana ushers in another enormous trumpet daffodil, bright-yellow KANDAHAR. Another long-term tenant in my garden, this trumpet grows straight and tall, undaunted by snow and ice which frequently beset it in our variable spring. MARCH SUNSHINE, a small golden trumpet, lives up to its name with sunny petals windswept as though fleeing winter’s storms.
Two Appealing Narcissus Species
Originally found in the wild, a dwarf in stature and small in bloom, are the polyanthus narcissus (Narcissus canaliculatus) and the sweet jonquil (N. jonquilla simplex). The former has clusters of three or four flowers to the stem with white perianth and a yellow, round cup.
Sweet jonquil has grass-like foliage and clusters of very tiny, intensely fragrant flowers of vivid yellow. For so frail a flower in appearance, this jonquil has been sturdy and quite lasting in our trying West Virginia strings. AI.ASNAM, a medium gold trumpet, and ADA FINCH. a large white trumpet, also prized for early flowers.
JOHN EVELYN, also a faithful performer of many years, has increased and flowered with only routine care. Unmistakable is its large, heavily frilled, and fluted primrose cup above white petals.
Worthy Hybrid Seedlings
Several of its hybrid seedlings have been found worthy: DUKE OF WINDSOR. LEVIATHAN, BROOKVILLE. Newer varieties include GREEN EMERALD, MILK AND CREAM, WODAN, TIMES SQUARE, and others.
LOVENEST is one of the first I grew of the apricot pinks. GLORIOUS has been in the garden for years and continues to live up to its name for it is a glorious, smooth, icy-white with a small orange eye, edged red. Three or four flowers open to a stem. Cluster-flowered LAURENS KOSTER may be the dean of the narcissus in my garden.
Deep purple dwarf irises open unobtrusively along the edge of the garden to lend their brief quota of rich color and with them the fiery scarlet tulip Tulipa Eichleri. A fine shrub specimen of Oregon holly-grape (mahonia) matches its clustered bloom with the large yellow trumpets of NARCISSUS GOLDEN HARVEST, BEN HUR, KING ALFRED, and the jonquil hybrids GOLDEN SCEPTER and GOLDEN PERFECTION.
Perennial doronicums carry on the same bright gold in daisy-like flowers. Tulipa dasystemon echoes the daffodil colors of yellow and white.
White hyacinths, peach blossoms, and pale blue phlox (Phlox divaricata) welcome durable daffodil AEROLITE in two pleasing tints of yellow. BEERSHEBA, one of the first white trumpet daffodils I tried, is still prized for its slim trumpet and elegant carriage.
Nearby grows THALIA, a triandrus hybrid and long a favorite for never failing performance and graceful, nodding white flowers in clusters of two or three. MOONSHINE is similar but does not flower as freely. Apple blossoms make snowy canopies above. Lilacs in blue, lavender, purple, and white open many flowers to perfume the air.
Early tulips, pink and lavender. are the vanguard of a colorful tulip parade lasting weeks. The star magnolia. Japanese magnolia, periwinkle, flowering quince, and Japanese cherry provide the setting for BINKIE, a lovely narcissus from far away Tasmania. Weatherproof and of fine substance.
BINKIE opens soft and pleasing light lemon-yellow, then the crown gradually pales to cream or near white. By accident, BINKIE was planted close enough to clumps of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia) to achieve a delightful effect. ROUGE. Also, a recent acquisition is a flamboyant flower with tawny yellow perianth and a wide cup of deep orange-red.
One of the most charming daffodils is GERTIE MILLAR—also one of the most lasting and prolific daffodils in the garden and a choice cut flower. Petals are white and the broad cup, frilled and deeply fluted, a soft primrose-yellow.
COVERACK PERFECTION is somewhat more delicate and harder to grow. It is so exquisite it repays any trouble. The perianth is white and smooth and the large, nearly flat crown is flushed and edged with pale salmon-yellow.
Daffodils During Spring Season
At the height of the spring season there are daffodils everywhere; MT. HOOD raises an unusually large white trumpet; FORTUNE blooms bright golden-orange; CORINTH has white thick petals and ivory trumpet; DAISY SHAFFER is large and remarkably effective with snowy petals and primrose cup changing to light canary-yellow.
Early purple iris, long-stemmed blue scillas, and tall stately white tulips add interest to daffodils HUNTER’S MOON, a lemon-yellow and FIRETAIL, an old variety with broad cream petals and short scarlet-orange cup. FIRETAIL has amazing vigor, increases rapidly, and always provides great quantities of cut flowers.
Spectacular coloring distinguishes two old varieties: FRANCISCA DRAKE with white perianth and flat, red-orange crown and DICK WELLBAND. white, with a flaming orange cup.
Pink daffodils seemed incredible when I first heard about them years ago. Then I planted MRS. BACKHOUSE, the first of a succession of pink trumpet varieties, and stilt one of the most reliable, particularly in cool weather. The trumpets are decidedly pink a day or so after they bloom and clumps of this variety are still among the most admired.
Tulips and Lilacs
When tall Darwin tulips are at their peak and white lilacs still scent the hill, late narcissus bloom. SILVER CHIMES, a triandrus hybrid with enchanting grace. has small white flowers, a pale primrose-yellow cup, and six or more flowers on the stem.
The old poet’s narcissus (N. poeticus) flowers in great abandon in large clumps. These have the most heavenly fragrance. ACTAEA, a large practice, has a small eye-edged bright red. Pale citron-yellow Alyssum saxatile citrus flowers in a warm corner; Cheiranthus GOLDEN BEDDER and Cheiranthus Anima contribute almost brassy highlights to spring borders.
Snowflakes ( leucojum) mingle white nodding bells with odd green-stenciled horseshoes on their petals; agujas lift spikes of brilliant blue; bleeding hearts (dicentra) repeat the nodding flowers of triandrus narcissus; primroses flower on shady slopes; overhead dogwoods are mantled in sheets of snowy bloom.
Then the last and most deliciously scented narcissus, N. albus Nelms odorants, flowers briefly, almost lost in the wealth of full springtime bloom and brings to a close the daffodil season—two months of sheer delight.
New Varieties of Daffodils
Perhaps you, like myself, enjoy trying out a bulb or two of newer varieties. Some of these may still be expensive but are worth the price and the effort to find them.
Among the newer daffodils is a glorious flower fittingly named ZERO, with purest icy white petals and a hint of ice-green in its heart. It grows tall and strong and lifts its head proudly—a fine exhibition flower.
BROUGHSHANE is the much-talked-about white trumpet daffodil, not only because of its enormous size but of rare finish, the perfection of form, and durable substance. Only a few years ago a single bulb sold for $250.
GREEN ISLAND, another of exhibition quality, has a very large flower with broad, overlapping petals, a smooth finish, and a shallow, frilled cup of green-white with a lime green rim.
CHINESE WHITE is claimed by the experts to be a superb show flower. It is purest white throughout except for a touch of green in the center.
CHAMPAGNE is one of the newer pink trumpets and one of the first to bloom. Flowers are first creamy-pink, then turn to salmon-pink. Other pinks include fragrant LADY BIRD; SIAM, one of the largest, and LOUISE DE COLIGNY, a sweet-scented apricot pink.
44659 by Mary C. Seckman