In Praise of Daffodils

Daffodils...they are so common that they are often taken for granted, yet they give and give while expecting very little in return. 

I have decided that what my yard needs is more daffodils.  I currently have a small clump that was given to me by my friend Jennifer, and the blooms are petite, yellow and lovely.  I just need more of them.  I love the way some people have them planted in drifts on hills or near the road at the entrance to their driveways.  They are quintessentially spring.

There is so much variety in the world of daffodils!  According to the American Daffodil Society's website, there are thirteen different descriptive divisions of daffodils, and over 25,000 named hybrids.  Today I visited Vivian England's yard and was delighted to find the flower in the photo- white with a peachy trumpet.  Vivian is quite the daffodil collector with at least 50 different varieties growing on her hillside.  She told me that the cardinal rule of daffodil growing is to never cut the foliage off the plant until it yellows.  After flowering, the plant absorbs the nutrients in the leaves and stores it in the bulbs for food for the next spring's blooms.  Cut off the foliage too early, and you limit your flower potential for next year. 

Happily, daffodils are very easy to grow and can take full sun or part shade-like under a deciduous tree.  They don't mind being mulched and don't have to be divided every year.  They should be planted in late fall to early winter, which gives me plenty of time to decide which ones I want to add to my yard for next year.  Did I mention they make excellent cut flowers as well?  I may have to move some iris to make more room for daffodils!