Nick Bailey gives his ideas on new ways to use miniature daffodils
Get planting now and you'll brighten up spring with these petite performers
What would spring be without a daffodil or two? These cheery blooms have been gracing our gardens for centuries and, given how easy they are to grow, isn’t it time to consider slo ing a few more into your plot? True, large forms of daffodils take up a fair amount of space and don’t exactly die with grace, but their miniature counterparts are a whole different story. Miniature daffodils carry all the colour wow of their bigger brethren but in a third of the space. Most average around 20cm (8in) tall. ‘Tête-à-tête’ is the classic midyellow, while ‘Jetfire’ is a darker tone with a strong orange cup. ‘Rip van Winkle’ is a yellow-lime colour with a spilt corolla, while ‘Minnow’ is white with a pale yellow cup. They're all great for small gardens, pots, baskets and borders but why not break with convention and try something new with your mini daffs?
Theatre of daffs
Get the look of a traditional auricula theatre by mounting simple scrapwood shelves to a south-facing wall. Three shelves will do the trick, then populate them with small terraco a pots planted with mini daffs. If your shelves are in an exposed area a li le dab of silicone will hold the pots firmly in place.
Stacked pots
Create a focal point by planting 10 or more terraco a pots with miniature daffs and stacking them in a cone shape to create tiered layers of colour.
Mix it up
Mixing together four varieties of miniature narcissus in a large pot gives a lovely fresh ‘oranges and lemons’ feel thanks to the pallet of pale yellows, darker yellows, apricot and orange. I’ve tried it a few times to great effect. For even more wow repeat the scheme in windowboxes, a border front or simply in a pair of pots, by the front door, to welcome guests.
Repeat, repeat, repeat
Li le daffs can feel lost on their lonesome so try repeating clusters of 10 or so bulbs staggered through your borders – 10 clusters of 10 will provide great unity and cohesion on a compact plot.
Top crust
Why not create a layered bulb lasagne in a large pot? Later spring-flowering bulbs such as lily-flowered tulips and Fritillaria persica can form the boom layer while any of the miniature narcissus make a super top crust.
Add a dash of lime
The orange and yellow tones of mini daffs have a fresh zesty vibrance, but you can crank that up another notch by adding some lime-coloured foliage to the mix. Among the best plants to do this is heuchera ‘Key Lime Pie’.