Carolyne Roehm

Celebrate Spring, April 2006 >> Daffodils

Daffodils
While daffodils show well in borders and beds, I think their true beauty is realized when they are set free: waltzing across a meadow, tumbling over a hillside or chasing one another through a pasture. It took me several years and many, many bulbs to achieve this vision in the orchard meadow at Weatherstone, my home in Connecticut. Now each spring, I welcome the naturalized daffs and recall William Wordsworth’s ode to narcissus: “And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.”

Garden Notes:
Daffs are one of the gardener’s most agreeable friends. They grow well in USDA Zones 3 through 8, accept full sun or partial shade, and are not picky about soil pH. Bulbs are ordered in late summer, arrive in fall, and should be planted at least four weeks before the ground freezes. It is essential to plant them soon after delivery as the bulbs lose their vigor if stored too long. And remember that when you are choosing bulbs, size does matter. The bulb contains the food that produces the bloom, so do not hesitate to invest in larger bulbs.

Early Spring Arrangements With Daffodils

Cutting Notes:
A bundle of assorted narcissis gathered into a rustic pot makes a simple and beautiful statement for a casual spring lunch. I also like to mix daffs with other early-blooming bulbs such as Fritillaria persica, a delightful deep purple relative of the lily. When I combine daffodils with other flowers, I pay close attention to the combination of forms — doubles, singles, minis, and trumpets. This creates a handsomely balanced bouquet. Tip: When mixing daffodils with other cut flowers, trim the daff stem and hold it over a candle or gas flame to sear the end and stop the flow of sap, which clogs the stems of other flowers and shortens their life.

See some of our vintage Daffodil clusters.

Daffodil Resource: Click image to enlarge.

I have over 20 different naturalized daffodils at Weatherstone. Some of my favorite varieties include: Cheerfulness, King Alfred, Mt. Hood, Flower Record and Red Rascal. But really, you can’t go wrong when choosing a mix of these jolly blooms.