a short note on the daffodil

Who doesn't smile when they see a daffodil? 

I certainly do, and there's plenty to smile about at the moment, especially as the borders are a carpet of yellow flowers nodding in the breeze. 

Years ago, we fell in love with a dwarf narcissus 'Tete a tete' and decided to stick this one variety throughout the garden. We find it brings a continuity to our spring borders. The one exception is the knot garden which requires an altogether taller variety - the dwarf varieties just get lost amongst the box hedges. 

Daffodils are amongst the easiest and cheapest spring bulbs to grow. Plant them at least twice the depth of the bulb, and once flowering has finished, allow all the foliage to die down. Cutting back the foliage early is one the most common reasons why daffodils fail to flower the following year. 

Every autumn we add more bulbs to the borders, filling in gaps, slowly creating better spring displays and not breaking the bank at the same time. 

Copyright © Mark Beards 2023 mbeardsgardening.blogspot.com