Cormaic's Garden - Spring Bulbs

Garden Layout - Spring Bulbs - Daffodils

I grow a number of different types of daffodils in the garden. The earliest are February Gold, appearing, not surprisingly, in February and then each variety in turn has its week or two of glory before the next takes over, right up to the late-flowering Baby Moon at the back-end of April and into early May.

Usually, the first to flower are these delightful February Gold, and although the leaves are up from around mid-Janurary, some years it's March before they actually flower. These grow in a window box outside the kitchen window, and reach a maximum height of around 250mm. A member of the cyclamineus group of narcissi, you only get one flower per stem, but they are such a cheery sight on a cold winter's day, and so reliable, that I can't imagine a spring without them,
February Gold

Silver Chimes This is the only 'pale' daffodil I grow, Silver Chimes. It, too, grows in a window box, adjacent to the February Gold mentioned above, but flowers a month or so later, in late March or early April. I'm a bit of a traditionalist with my daffs in that I believe all daffs should be yellow, and this one just about qualifies. The original plan was to mix it with the February Gold to get a contrast between flower colour and shape, but their different flowering times put paid to that, and so I grow them separately outside the kitchen window.

Now, this one could be Jumblie or it could be Tete-a-Tete. I planted both varieties in the same year (1997) in adjacent deep troughs on the patio, and I'm buggered if I can remember which is which. I think this group are the Jumblies, but if anyone knows better, please let me know.
A delightful multi-bloomed variety, growing about 300mm tall with sunny yellow flowers with a slightly darker trumpet and reflexed petals. I've had umpteen peoploe tell me that you can't get good daffs from a trough, but these grow in a rich soil, with plenty of added compost and are regularly fed after flowering with Growmore or pelleted Chickenshitten which serves to build up the bulbs for the following year. Jumblies

Jetfire I think this is my favourite daff - Jetfire, another of the cyclamineus group. The trumpets are orange and seem to get deeper as the flowers age, while the strong yellow petals are reflexed, giving the appearance of a jet engine, hence the name I suppose. This one tends to flower around about mid-March and generally lasts at least 2 weeks. They reach a height of around 350mm, perfectly proportioned and well-balanced on sturdy darkish green stems. A study in perfection.

This daffodil, Baby Moon, with its spoon-like petals around a shallow trumpet, was 1999's addition to the garden. I found it to be quite late flowering, only emerging in May and catching me unawares, as I'd completely forgotten that I'd planted it (bloody painklillers!). Grows to about 300mm high.

Other varieties that aren't featured on this page include a rag-tag collection of large flowering types acquired from my nephew in the Dutch bulb business, and the latest addition to my collection, Sir Winston Churchill. If I manage to get pictures of them this coming spring, I'll add them to the page next year.

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Garden Layout - Spring Bulbs - Daffodils
I grow a number of different types of daffodils in the garden. The earliest are February Gold, appearing, not surprisingly, in February and then each variety in turn has its week or two of glory before the next takes over, right up to the late-flowering Baby Moon at the back-end of April and into early May.

Usually, the first to flower are these delightful February Gold, and although the leaves are up from around mid-Janurary, some years it's March before they actually flower. These grow in a window box outside the kitchen window, and reach a maximum height of around 250mm. A member of the cyclamineus group of narcissi, you only get one flower per stem, but they are such a cheery sight on a cold winter's day, and so reliable, that I can't imagine a spring without them,

	This is the only 'pale' daffodil I grow, Silver Chimes. It, too, grows in a window box, adjacent to the February Gold mentioned above, but flowers a month or so later, in late March or early April. I'm a bit of a traditionalist with my daffs in that I believe all daffs should be yellow, and this one just about qualifies. The original plan was to mix it with the February Gold to get a contrast between flower colour and shape, but their different flowering times put paid to that, and so I grow them separately outside the kitchen window.

Now, this one could be Jumblie or it could be Tete-a-Tete. I planted both varieties in the same year (1997) in adjacent deep troughs on the patio, and I'm buggered if I can remember which is which. I think this group are the Jumblies, but if anyone knows better, please let me know. A delightful multi-bloomed variety, growing about 300mm tall with sunny yellow flowers with a slightly darker trumpet and reflexed petals. I've had umpteen peoploe tell me that you can't get good daffs from a trough, but these grow in a rich soil, with plenty of added compost and are regularly fed after flowering with Growmore or pelleted Chickenshitten which serves to build up the bulbs for the following year.

	I think this is my favourite daff - Jetfire, another of the cyclamineus group. The trumpets are orange and seem to get deeper as the flowers age, while the strong yellow petals are reflexed, giving the appearance of a jet engine, hence the name I suppose. This one tends to flower around about mid-March and generally lasts at least 2 weeks. They reach a height of around 350mm, perfectly proportioned and well-balanced on sturdy darkish green stems. A study in perfection.

This daffodil, Baby Moon, with its spoon-like petals around a shallow trumpet, was 1999's addition to the garden. I found it to be quite late flowering, only emerging in May and catching me unawares, as I'd completely forgotten that I'd planted it (bloody painklillers!). Grows to about 300mm high.
Other varieties that aren't featured on this page include a rag-tag collection of large flowering types acquired from my nephew in the Dutch bulb business, and the latest addition to my collection, Sir Winston Churchill. If I manage to get pictures of them this coming spring, I'll add them to the page next year.