What’s in a name?

The confusion over what to call those lovely yellow flowers, blooming along roadsides and in your neighbor’s yard this time of year, has people scratching their heads.

“I’ve always heard them called buttercups”

“Down south we called them Jonquils”

“Easter Lilies, that’s what I’ve always called them”

“Daffodils, they’re all daffodils.”

If you ask a dozen people, you might get a dozen answers. If you love these flowers, then you need to know what they are, so you can plant them in your landscape to have your own to pick next year. Yes, you. I’ve seen you along the roadsides plucking those bright yellow blooms. How do they get in the ditches anyway. I suspect squirrels, but before accusing them, I’ll investigate further. I digress.

The name. Plants have general overall names like “human,” and smaller family names like “caucasian,” and from there a specific family name like “Wall.” Don’t be confused by that last one. That IS my last name but it’s also a noun. Sometimes I have to explain that if you put four of us linking arms we hold up the roof. I digress, again.

Let me clear up a few name issues on these lovely yellow flowers. What you see blooming now, are Narcissus (the human equivalent), specifically Daffodils (the caucasian equivalent). They are not fragrant and they grow one flower on the end of one stem. They grow from a bulb and if you plant them once, they typically come back each year with more stems until the bulbs run out of room, then production decreases. That’s when you know you need to divide them and share with a neighbor or plant along the roadside to brighten the commute for drivers.

There are some exceptions blooming now, too. Aside from there being tens of thousands of cultivars (types) of narcissus, you can kind of group them into two basic categories: one bloom on one stem or clusters of blooms at the top of one stem. I have both in my yard. The added bonus to the second group (clustered blooms on the top) is that they are fragrant! They fall into the family name of Jonquil.

So, just to be clear. What you see 99 percent of the time will be classified as a Daffodil. If you visit my farm or flower shop, I can show you the Jonquils. Your eyes will get lost in the double layers of blooms and your senses will get lost in the delicate but heavenly scent.

Fall is the time to plant these, so start making your list based on the type of flower you want: fragrant or not, single bloom or not. Then in 2019, they’ll be blooming in your yard, too.

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