Daffodils herald spring in the way that only something so trumpeted can; a brass section of bulbs calling forth better days. If last week’s bulbs (irises, crocus and chionodoxa) were small painterly delights, this week’s lot make a much louder statement.
Large daffodils look great in a vase but can be tricky in the garden, when the strong acid yellows can be too municipal, and great clumps of fading flowers and leaves are a bore. Perhaps keep them for the allotment or veg garden, where you can grow them in a resolutely practical line and feel no hint of embarrassment. Mixed bags of cheap daffodil bulbs are perfect for those reasons.
For the garden, I favour daintier sorts. Some of the best daffodils are those that naturalise easily, and once settled just get on with the job. A little initial effort is needed; the earlier you get them into the ground the better. If you can’t get them in by the end of the month, don’t worry – if spring doesn’t soar with flowers, the following one will.
If your soil is thin, plant bulbs at least 15cm deep to stop them drying out in summer. In coarse grass top up the planting holes with compost. I find bulb planters are hard work unless planting into fine forked-over border soil. I prefer to hinge back the turf with a spade or mattock, plant several bulbs, pointed ends up, at once and then replace the grass.
Wordsworth’s daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) is our native wild species. Its colour varies, with all-cream and all-yellow versions, though the majority tend to have a bright yellow trumpet surrounded by a frill of white. It grows to 30cm high and is wonderful for woodlands, semi-shaded grass under trees and the base of hedgerows. It flowers in late March and no amount of bad weather bothers it.
I am equally fond of old pheasant’s eye (N. poeticus var recurvus) and N. poeticus ‘Actaea’. The latter flowers a whole month before the species and is one of the best April bulbs. It has a deep, nutmeg scent and will happily naturalise in grass, though it looks equally at home in the border. It looks good with other yellows, cowslips and other daffs or darker colours, such as hellebores. Old pheasant’s eye is best in damper situations in semi-shade; ‘Actaea’ is more easy-going. Plant 13-15cm deep and roughly the same distance apart.
There’s also a white form, N. poeticus ‘Dallas’, that looks most refined, with its flush of green to the petals and centre. It tends to flower a little later, extending the season just that bit longer.
