RAISED EXPECTATIONS
Using pots offers you the great convenience of setting down a smear of colour just where you need it. But when you’re using narcissi you can easily end up with an arrangement that has an unnatural look or with one that is too yellow biased. I have learned to avoid strident yellow forms and big leafy types but also to avoid mixtures – instead narcissi work best if you plant separate pots of just a few carefully selected kinds or, if the pot is impressive enough, a single star.
How to achieve the look
I love the idea of the garden seamlessly segueing into the landscape beyond. In a similar way, with this large trough, I have tried to borrow the language of the Orchard at Sissinghurst, where great sheets of flowering daffodils, mostly composed of the early Narcissus lobularis followed by the elegant Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus and later buttercups and cow parsley, form an undercurrent to the garden through March and April. I have tried to replicate the Orchard’s exuberance, but scaled down in pots nearer to the house. The jonquils perform this role perfectly – multi-headed, fine foliaged and heavily scented. The scented Narcissus ‘Thalia’, the long-flowering N. ‘WP Milner’ and the late-flowering N. ‘Hawera’ with primrose- coloured flowers are all good for pot culture, but for this imposing lead trough I’ve chosen the delicate and scented N. ‘Elka’. My general philosophy is to be generous when deciding how many bulbs to use, for example in a pot of 80cm diameter I would use 75 bulbs of a mid-sized narcissus. Vita was also never meagre or stingy in her planting, saying, ‘I like generosity in flowers as much as I do in people, cram, cram, cram every nook and cranny.’ Narcissi bulbs need to be in the ground by September and if grown in pots need plenty of grit, roughly one part grit to three parts John Innes No 1. With troughs you should also ensure that the drainage hole is clear and kept open by using crocks over it.
Plant
‘Elka’ Narcissus Narcissi are flowers of such grace, poise, beauty and delight. This is one of the brightest stars in a large firmament of Narcissus types; she flaunts delicate, perfect, ivorywhite petals with a pale-yellow trumpet that fades to china white in a delightful way. Pot displays are also a great opportunity to add fragrance and in this respect Narcissus ‘Elka’ doesn’t disappoint with a scent that is light and sweet. 25cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 3a-10b.