Thursday, March 4, 2010

Early Spring Heirloom Daffodils

'Sweetie', Narcissus jonquilla

I was lucky enough to be invited to visit a private bulb farm yesterday. The day before had been quite cold and rainy but it was our chosen day - sunny but with a nippy wind from the north. The earliest of the spring daffodils were blooming and it was beautiful. These are all heirloom daffodils, meaning the varieties have been grown for many generations. On top of the privilege of seeing such beautiful flowers we were allowed to dig up a few for ourselves. I came home with Twin Sisters (also called April Beauty, a late bloomer, N. x medioluteus), Hoop Petticoats (N. bulbocodium bulbocodium), and Texas Star (N.x intermedius). I hope these photos bring you a little smile and assure you that spring will indeed makes its appearance!


I'm not sure which variety this is


Narcissus 'Fortune'

Narcissus 'Grand Sol D'Or', a tiny bloomer

Field of Campernelles, N. x odorus

Narcissus 'February Gold'

This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2009. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

17 comments:

  1. Hi Jean,
    Lovely photos of daffodils. It's been colder than previous years here and so daffodils generally are just starting to show some green. It's nice to be reminded of whats in store!

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  2. What a cool place to visit - I love the field of Daffodils. It reminds me of the swathes of Daffodils I saw at the Morton Arboretum once. (I need to go back this spring to see that again.) Thanks for posting a little sunshine.

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  3. Oh my, the field of Campernelles is awe inspiring! We just planted our first daffodils here last autumn, which are now blooming, and we're so hoping they naturalize across our orchard slope. If they filled in like the Campernelles I'd be thrilled!

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  4. I should say Lucky! I would love to have a tour of a private Daffodil farm! Love your picks. Daffys are such cheery flowers. :)

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  5. Lovely photos for spring starved eyes!

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  6. What a treat! You got to bring some home, even better.

    I keep going out and looking at the earliest blooms and telling myself, not yet. There aren't enough to make a splash, just enough open and in bud to know it's going to be wonderful soon.

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  7. That field of daffodils certainly makes me smile! Reminds me of Wordsworth's poem of "dancing daffodils." How neat to be able to visit a bulb farm and actually dig up your own bulbs.

    The sun is shining here, and it actually feels rather warm--almost 40:) I know that spring must be on its way.

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  8. Oh you did have fun, touring a private bulb farm and digging up a few bulbs for yourself.
    That is like bringing sunshine home.
    Thanks for the photos.

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  9. I'm a huge fan of daffs and love all the heirlooms you show, esp. those with orange bells. I didn't plant too many bulbs last fall, but will order some daffs from Old House Gardens, just down the street from me in Ann Arbor.

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  10. I only see a spot of green where my daffs are trying their best to emerge. These are beacons.

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  11. Beautiful pictures. I didn't know there were so many different kinds of daffodils.
    Thanks for your comments on my site and yes we have met your brother at a Casita Ralley. We were at Matagorda in 2008 and met him then. We need to go back to another one someday because we really enjoyed visiting with him and all the other Casita folks.

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  12. I know you had a wonderful day! And you will remember it every years when your daffodils bloom.

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  13. Oooh, how lucky you are! Both to have been able to visit a daffodil farm and to have them already in bloom - we're about a month away up here in CT. Somehow I always think of daffodils as the "real" start of spring - when they bloom I know the gardening season can finally start in earnest :-)

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  14. The fields of daffodils at Morton Arboretum is what I thought of too, Jean - my family has visited and taken photos there for decades... but you went one step better & got to dig some up!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  15. Jean, Such beautiful daffodils. ...You fortunate gardener...What a delightful treat...I've admired hoopskirt daffs but have not tried them....Let us know how they do. gail

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  16. The second unknown daffodil appers to be Princeps. One of my favorites!

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  17. Your daffodil flowers are so beautiful. Love them

    Aanee xxx
    flower delivery

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