Narcissus in Greek mythology was a hunter who was renowned for his beauty. He was exceptionally proud in that he disdained those who loved him such as the wood nymph Echo, she wasted away to a mere voice for the unrequited love of Narcissus. As divine punishment he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool not realising it was an image, and wasted away to death not being able to leave the beauty of his own reflection. The story goes the first narcissus sprang from where he fell.
The term daffodil has been used since 1590 to describe an early spring flower of solid yellow or white and yellow. Gerard in his herbal of1636 writes of wild natives and jonquils. Another Elizabethan herbalist John Parkinson has illustrations of nine daffodils in 1629.
Today’s gardeners are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing what to plant in their garden. Apart from the wild ones, the garden varieties have been divided into 11 divisions by the Royal Horticultural Society. For simplicity I am dividing them into camps, The large flowered varieties, and the smaller types.
Large flowered ones are about 40cms or 16 inches tall and flower in March or April. Examples are King Alfred and Carlton or the white Thalia, and Pheasant Eye.They can be planted in borders, naturalised i.e. grown in grass, or in containers. I have to declare my preference for the smaller flowered, prettier narcissus. My favourite is the wild lent lily, Pseudo Narcissus lobularis, it’s lemon yellow with a darker yellow trumpet. My second favourite is it’s cousin the Tenby daffodil is a bright golden yellow, they are about 20 cm, 8 inches tall. Generally the small flowered narcissuses are about between 30 cm, 12 inches and 20 cm, 8 inches tall, and flower March or April. Examples are, February Gold, Jonquila, and Tete-A-Tete they are often multi-headed too. All the smaller types suit growing in containers or plant them in the garden where you can get up close and admire their beauty, at time of year when there is not a lot else to see.
Ron Scamp, a daffodil breeder from Cornwall, recommends for naturalising those that clump up and are dependable and weatherproof. Such as the Lent and Tenby daffodils, Jenny (white), Jack Snipe, Geranium (white petals orange cups), and Pipit (lemon yellow). For a meadow with Orchids and other wild flowers, Pheasant Eye(white with a deep red eye). Ron says, These more elegant kinds bring grace and beauty, but big hybrids densely massed can disfigure a landscape.
Strong words!
Michele Seddon-Harvey