NARCISSI We celebrate these blooms
Nothing signifies the onset of spring more than carpets of daffodils growing in fields of green
‘WHEN all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the Lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.’ So wrote William Wordsworth on seeing (almost certainly) our native Narcissus pseudonarcissus. The link between the plant and its Latin name is unexplained; in one of the Greek myths Narcissus pines away after falling in love with his own image and after he dies is changed into a flower. There is no proof that the flower we know as narcissus was that flower, but its bright beauty mirrors that of the exquisite youth as rendered by painters, sculptors and writers over the centuries.
The origin of the plant’s common name, daffodil, is equally hazy but it is a mid-16th-century word believed to derive from the late Middle English word ‘affodill’, which in turn is a variant of the Greek genera asphodelos, an everlasting flower that was said to grow in the Elysian Fields. Whatever the origins of its names, the genus, a member of the Amaryllidaceae family, is classified by size and flower shape into 13 divisions. There are more than 3,000 varieties to suit every garden situation, from the tiny Alpine Narcissus asturiensis x cyclamineus for the rockery to the large-cupped N. ‘Carlton’ for an eye-catching start to the herbaceous border.
POTS AND ROCKERIES
‘N. ‘Thalia’ looks lovely in galvanised pots or planted against dark evergreens,’ says Matthew Biggs, from BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time. He also suggests planting single dwarf varieties, such as N. ‘Minnow’, in terracotta pots up the steps leading to a front door. Marie Shallcross of Plews Garden Design recommends pots of scented narcissi by the door or on a balcony, containing the fragrant pheasant-eye daffodil, N. poeticus, planted with N. ‘Jetfire’ or N. ‘Pinza’. ‘For pots, you need multi-head, multi-stem daffodils, such as N. ‘Tête-à-tête’, N. ‘Toto’ and N. ‘Hawera’,’ says Christine Skelmersdale of Broadleigh Gardens. For larger pots, Chelsea Silver Medallist Vicky Harris uses N. tazetta ‘Geranium’, which is pure white with an orange cup. Jonquilla cultivars such as N. ‘Pipit’, N. ‘Quail’ and N. ‘Rosemoor Gold’ are ideal for pots and naturalising. ‘They will scent a room when cut and also look great at the front of the border,’ she says. N. asturiensis x cyclamineus is another good choice for rockeries and patios. It likes well-draining soil and plenty of sunshine in summer.