|
Plant bulbs now to light up the spring garden. The cool weather of autumn is at hand and it’s time for gardeners to think spring. Now is the time to plant the little bulbs and corms that bring spring gardens to life. My favorite spring flowering bulbs are the daffodils. Once they establish a home in the garden, they will bloom gloriously and reliably for many years with little attention. Because of their beauty and durability, they’ve become America’s most popular perennials. Start talking about daffodils, and the discussion often turns to the name game. Are they daffodils or are they Narcissus? Or maybe they’re jonquils. Well, it turns out that Narcissus is the formal Latin name for the whole genus of these plants. Over time however, people mistakenly called certain types of these plants Narcissus, while calling other varieties daffodils. Actually the two names are interchangeable. Narcissus is the Latin name and daffodil is the common name. Jonquils on the other hand are just one of thirteen different kinds of daffodils. They were one the first daffodils brought over to the southeastern United States. Later other daffodils made their way to the southeast and were planted with the jonquils. Soon everyone down there referred to all of them as jonquils and started all the confusion. Just remember all jonquils are daffodils, but not all daffodils are jonquils. No matter what color your thumb is, you can grow daffodils. All they require is a well-drained location in full sun or partial shade. All daffodils are resistant to disease and unpalatable to most pests, including deer and squirrels.
Narcissus are found in the wild in southwestern Europe from Spain and Portugal up to France and Great Britain, over to Switzerland and Austria, then back down to Greece and Italy. A small number of wild species grow in northern Africa. Using these wild plants breeders have developed more than 25,000 daffodil varieties. The British have done most of the breeding work. In fact Great Britain is the number one producer of daffodils. The Dutch are second. I can’t tell you about all 25, 000 varieties of daffodils, but I can tell you about a few that I think you’d like to have in your garden. One of them is Narcissus ‘Avalon’. It is a large, strong, large cupped daffodil with perfect form. The yellow petals take on a buff hue with time and the cup turns to pure white as it matures. ‘Avalon’ adds an air of grace and beauty to the spring garden. Double daffodils have rose-like flowers. One of the best of them is N. ‘Bridal Crown’, which has three to six flowers per stem. The flowers are white and saffron and incredibly fragrant. Just a few stems brought into the house will fill the air with a sweet fragrance.
Narcissus ‘Carlew’ is a true jonquil. This American bred daffodil has two or three flowers per stem, each with creamy white petals and a white cup. It’s a strong bloomer perfect for evening gardens. Another jonquil, N. ‘Sun Disc’ is a miniature daffodil less than seven inches tall. The very rounded, overlapping, buttercup-yellow petals form a disk shaped flower with a small cup. The blooms have a strong fragrance. Narcissus ‘Little Gem’ is another miniature daffodil that’s even smaller- about four or five inches tall. It has little golden-yellow trumpet flowers and looks great planted in a strawberry jar. There’s a special place in my heart for the Pheasant’s Eye daffodil, N. poeticus var. recurvus. Each flower has pure white petals and a dainty yellow cup with a red rim. The blooms are held on strong twelve inch stems and have a delightful spicy fragrance. My grandmother had a large planting of Pheasant Eyes along her driveway. During May we would cut bouquets of them for the house and for church. They would last for days as cut flowers. If you want to learn more about daffodils, I recommend a book called Daffodils for the American Garden. It was written by Brent Heath, a third generation daffodil breeder and a world-renowned expert on flowering bulbs. He explains how to grow daffodils and how to use them in the garden. He is an accomplished photographer and his book is filled with exquisite pictures of daffodil gardens. It also contains a full color listing of more than two hundred daffodil varieties recommended for American gardens. Mr. Heath will be presenting a program, "Bulbs for the Perennial Garden", in Kewanee on Sunday afternoon, September 26. His presentation, illustrated with his beautiful slides, will teach gardeners how to plant bulbs and combine them with other perennials in the garden. You can call me at 852-4172 for more information or check www.sunnyfield.com. |
|
SUNNYFIELD.COM
Copyright © 2003 Sunnyfield Farm,
Inc. All rights reserved. Last modified: October 25, 2003 |
