The eagerly-awaited daffodil season started the end of March this year. Of course, with the cold and snowy April we had this year, the earliest daffodils ended up looking a little chilly.
Thankfully the weather finally warmed up, and I think all of the spring flowers started blooming at once!
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| Clockwise from top: the very fragrant Narcissus x odorus flore pleno, Narcissus 'Cragford', Narcissus 'Electrus' |
Anyone who sees my garden in spring can guess just how much I love daffodils. My collection somehow keeps growing every year. The botanical name for daffodil is 'Narcissus', named either for the Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) or for the Greek hunter from mythology who fell in love with the beauty of his own reflection. Either reason is pretty fitting...
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| Narcissus 'Audubon' |
Which is my favorite? It would be so hard to pick just one, but every time I see the small and delicate-looking 'Beryl' with its wind-swept petals, I fall in love. Photos never do this one justice.
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| Narcissus 'Beryl' |
My favorite varieties are the miniature daffodils, whose blooms are often only the size of a quarter - or even as small as a dime. And there's always room to tuck just a few more little ones in the garden, isn't there?
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Miniature daffodils in my garden:
Top - N. 'Mite', Middle - N. fernandesii, N. 'Toto', N. 'Sun Disc', Bottom - N. 'Hawera', N. 'Xit' |
If you really want to see a large number of different daffodils, though, go to a daffodil show. The past couple of years I've started bringing daffodils to the
Seven States Daffodil Show at
Tower Hill Botanical Garden.
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| Seven States Daffodil Show in 2017 |
It is so much fun to get together with other daffodil-lovers and to see so many different varieties of daffodils all in one room.
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| the unusual-looking Narcissus 'Rip van Winkle' |
There was worry that with the late spring we wouldn't have as many daffodils up and blooming in time for the early May show, but our fears were unfounded. There was even extra excitement, as a couple guests judges from California flew in for the show, including Dr. Harold Kooporwitz, a noted daffodil hybridizer.
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| just one of several rows full of daffodils |
So many beautiful blooms in one room! Of course, one of the best parts is perusing the daffodils for new varieties that one might want for their garden...
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A collection of 10 different miniature daffodils
(including a couple that I don't have that would look lovely in my garden...) |
Even the daffodils outside somehow knew that there was a show going on and didn't want to be left out. Tower Hill's
Field of Daffodils was in full bloom just in time for the show.
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| Field of Daffodils at Tower Hill Botanical Garden |
If you decide to visit a daffodil show, however, do be careful. Those crazy people who love and collect daffodils are said to have 'yellow fever'...
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| N. 'Altun Ha' |
and I've found it's quite contagious.
They are magnificent. No wonder it is contagious.
ReplyDeleteThank you. So many pretty ones!
DeleteI'm a big fan of the mini-daffs, too. I planted 'Hawera' last fall and love it interplanted with Muscari 'Valerie Finnis' - a delight! 'Pipit' is another favorite and a good performer. I planted a fragrant mix a couple years ago and love bringing them in for vases to enjoy inside.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to make a note to visit Tower Hill for the Daffodil show next year.
That sounds like such a lovely combination! I planted some darker colored grape hyacinth around, but they bloomed at a different time than the daffodils I put them next too. Next year...
Deleteso amazing to see the daffodils. Yellow color attracts everyone eyes to give a glance to it.
ReplyDeleteCragford flower looks beautiful. The double color in them is the added beauty to it:)
There is such a variety in daffodils, and a surprising number of color combinations!
DeleteI love 'Altun Ha'! Plus that Field of Daffodils - wow!
ReplyDeleteThe field was stunning. I couldn't fit all the daffodils into one picture, as it just kept going on and on!
DeleteWhat a rewarding variety, and addictive to add just a few more!
ReplyDeleteIt helps that it is pretty much critter proof! I've given up on a lot of other bulbs, but daffodils survive and even multiply.
DeleteA daffodil show sounds like fun, especially getting some ideas for new varieties to plant by seeing them in person, rather than just photos in a catalog. My goal is to have a swath of daffodils along one edge of our yard--which is very long--and keep plugging away, planting 100 or more each fall.
ReplyDeleteOh that will look so pretty!!
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ReplyDeleteHello Indie, how beautiful.
I loved the pictures.
Good continuation of month.
Thank you!
DeleteIndie, that's amazing that you exhibit daffodils at a show -- your blooms are all so lovely! Thanks so much for sharing them with us. Best, -Beth
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beth! It's a fun thing to do, and to mingle with other daffodil geeks. :)
DeleteThere's a nearby gardener whose garden I visited once who definitely has a severe case of daffodil obsession. Her whole property (pretty much) is planted in daffodils!!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds a lot like what my property looks like, ha! I have them throughout a lot of my garden area! And they keep multiplying...
DeleteI share your love of daffodils. The warm colors are such a welcome sight that tell us that winter is coming to an end. (Here they bloom March-April.) Your minis are adorable! Must haul out the bulb catalogs and place an order.
ReplyDelete