Dickissel AGM (Jonquil)
Intrigue AGM (Jonquil)
Pineapple Prince AGM (Large-cupped)
Pipit AGM (Jonquil)
Spellbinder AGM (Trumpet)
HEIRLOOM VARIETIES, PRE-1930
All are readily available and easy to grow.
Barrii Conspicuus (Small-cupped)
Bath’s Flame (Small-cupped)
Coverack Glory (Large-cupped)
Emperor (Trumpet)
Fortune (Large-cupped)
Horace (Poeticus)
Lucifer (Small-cupped)
Princeps (Trumpet)
Sir Watkin (Large-cupped)
Sulphur Phoenix (Double)
Sweetness (Jonquil)
DWARF VARIETIES (MAX. HEIGHT OF 30CM/1 FOOT)
Bantam AGM (Large-cupped)
Cornish Chuckles AGM (Miscellaneous)
Founding AGM (Cyclamineus)
Hawera AGM (Triandrus)
Jack Snipe AGM (Cyclamineus)
Jet Fire AGM (Cyclamineus)
Kokopelli AGM (Jonquil)
Little Gem AGM (Large-cupped)
Pencrebar (Double)
Rosemoor Gold AGM (Jonquil)
Segovia AGM (Small-cupped)
Silver Chimes (Tazetta)
Snipe (Cyclamineus)
Surfside AGM (Cyclamineus)
Tête-à-Tête AGM (Miscellaneous)
Narcissus bulbocodium AGM
Narcissus cyclamineus AGM
Narcissus triandrus ‘Albus’
GOOD FOR NATURALISING
The following varieties are particularly good for naturalising—or more accurately, perennialising, as they increase rapidly. Note that the species have the capacity to truly naturalise, through seeding.
Apricot (Large-cupped)
Carlton AGM (Large-cupped)
Feeling Lucky AGM (Large-cupped)
Ice Follies AGM (Large-cupped)
Princeps (Trumpet)
Telamonius Plenus (Double)
Thalia (Triandrus)
Tresamble (Triandrus)
Trevithian AGM (Jonquil)
Narcissus obvallaris AGM
Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus AGM
Narcissus pseudonarcissus AGM
GOOD FOR GROWING IN POTS INDOORS
Charity May AGM (Cyclamineus)
Cheerfulness AGM (Double Tazetta)
Erlicheer (Double Tazetta)
Geranium AGM (Tazetta)
Tête-à-Tête AGM (Miscellaneous)
Yellow Cheerfulness (Tazetta)
Narcissus papyraceus
EARLY BUT ROBUST, EVEN IN CONTINENTAL CLIMATES
Aberfoyle AGM (Large-cupped)
Avalanche AGM (Tazetta)
Boslowick AGM (Split-corona)
Bram Warnaar AGM (Trumpet)
Bryanston AGM (Large-cupped)
February Gold AGM (Cyclamineus)
Grasmere AGM (Trumpet)
Itzim AGM (Cyclamineus)
Little Beauty AGM (Trumpet)
Monal (Large-cupped)
Peeping Tom AGM (Cyclamineus)
Rijnveldt’s Early Sensation AGM (Large-cupped)
Sagitta AGM (Trumpet)
Whipcord AGM (Jonquil)
FOR WARM SPRINGS AND HOT, HUMID SUMMERS
Where sun-resistant flowers are vital (e.g., the American South), the following varieties are good.
Accent AGM (Large-cupped)
Barrett Browning (Small-cupped)
Ceylon AGM (Large-cupped)
Gigantic Star (Large-cupped)
Merlin AGM (Small-cupped)
Minnow AGM (Tazetta)
Mount Hood AGM (Trumpet)
Notre Dame AGM (Large-cupped)
Pinza AGM (Large-cupped)
Pipit AGM (Jonquil)
Quasar AGM (Large-cupped)
Thalia (Triandrus)
Topolino AGM (Trumpet)
Narcissus jonquilla AGM
Select Bibliography
Allen, Natalie. 2000. Full Circle: Memories of Cotehele Valley Market Gardeners and the Diaries of Joseph Snell. Privately published.
Barnes, Don. 1987. Daffodils for Home, Garden and Show. Timber Press, Portland.
Besler, B. 2000. The Garden at Eichstätt: The Book of Plants. Taschen, London.
Bowles, E. A. 1934. A Handbook of Narcissus. Martin Hopkinson, London.
Brockbank, William. 1894. Edward Leeds. The Gardeners’ Chronicle (10 and 24 November):561–562; 625–626.
Burbidge, F. W. 1875. The Narcissus: Its History and Culture. L. Reeve & Co., London.
Coats, Alice M. 1971. Flowers and Their Histories. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Davis, P. 1990. The Backhouses of Weardale, Co. Durham. Garden History 18(1):57–67.
Donald, K. 1984. Peter Barr, 1826–1909. The Garden 109:401–405.
Gerard, J., and M. Woodward. 1994. Gerard’s Herbal: The History of Plants. Senate, London.
Herbert, W. 1846. On hybridisation amongst vegetables. Journal of the Horticultural Society of London 2:1–28.
Herbert, W. M., and Hamilton P. Traub. 1970. Amaryllidaceae, with an Introduction by H. P. Traub. Verlag Von J. Cramer, Codicote (UK) and New York.
Jacob, Joseph. 1910. Daffodils. T. C. & E. C. Jack, London.
Jefferson-Brown, Michael. 1969. Daffodils and Narcissi: A Complete Guide to the Narcissus Family. Faber and Faber, London.
——. 1991. The work of the Backhouse family. Daffodil and Tulip Yearbook, 1990–1991:48–51
Paravisini-Gebert, Lisa. 2009. [Jamaica] Kincaid speaks of daffodils …. Repeating Islands. repeatingislands.com/2009/06/01/kincaid-speaks-of-daffodils. Accessed 19 July 2012.
National Trust for Scotland. 1999. Ian Brodie: A Chieftain in the World of Daffodils. NTS, Edinburgh.
Rivera Nuñez, Diego, et al. 2003. The origin of cultivation and wild ancestors of daffodils (Narcissus subgenus Ajax) (Amaryllidaceae) from an analysis of early illustrations. Scientia Horticulturae 98(4):307–330.
Tompsett, A. 2006. Golden Harvest: The Story of Daffodil Growing in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Alison Hodge, Penzance.
Uings, Joy. 2003. Edward Leeds: A Nineteenth-Century Plantsman. Ph.D. diss. University of Manchester.
Wells, James S. 1989. Modern Miniature Daffodils. Batsford, London.
Wheeler, D. 2007. The Brodie of Brodie: his life story and the search for his daffodils. Daffodils with Snowdrops and Tulips, RHS:42–46.
Wilson, A. M. 1939. Recollections of the early years of this century. The Daffodil Yearbook, RHS:19–22.
Sources and Resources
The Daffodil Yearbook, published under various names by the RHS from 1913 onwards, is an invaluable source of information on the plants, daffodil people, and daffodil history; on the subject of money specifically, it is interesting to note an article in its 1933 edition, “New and Rare Daffodils as an Investment.” Since 2011, the yearbook is issued as Daffodil, Snowdrop and Tulip Yearbook.
The RHS-run International Daffodil Register and Classified List has a searchable online database: apps.rhs.org.uk/horticulturaldatabase/daffodilregister/daffsearch.asp.
Daffseek.org, run by the American Daffodil Society, is an incredibly useful data source for basic descriptions, pedigree, descendants, and often pictures; however, opinions differ on how accurate it is.
NATIONAL SOCIETIES
In some cases, notably in the United States, there are some strong regional societies as well.
American Daffodil Society
daffodilusa.org
The Daffodil Society (UK)
thedaffodilsociety.com
National Daffodil Society of New Zealand
daffodil.org.nz
Tasmanian Daffodil Council
tasblooms.com/tdc
Victorian Daffodil Society (formerly the Australian Daffodil Society)
daffodilbulbs.com.au/vds
SUPPLIERS OF DAFFODILS
It would be easy to fill up many pages with lists of daffodil suppliers. Now that it is so
easy to search online for local or specialist nurseries and bulb dealers, links are given only for those who are featured in the book:
Kate and Duncan Donald
Croft 16
croft16daffodils.co.uk
Elise and Richard Havens
Mitsch Novelty Daffodils
mitschdaffodils.com
Brent and Becky Heath
Brent and Becky’s Bulbs
brentandbeckysbulbs.com
Ron Scamp
Quality Daffodils
qualitydaffodils.com
DAFFODIL GARDENS AND COLLECTIONS
In the United States, the American Daffodil Society has approved display gardens, with an up-to-date list: daffodilusa.org/displaygardenprogram/approveddisplaygardens.html.
Daffodil collections, where plants are clearly labelled, have had a distinctly chequered career in Britain, with several appearing and then disappearing again over the last few decades. There are now very few places where it is possible to see labelled plants. The following have labelled collections based on particular breeders or historical periods.
GUY L. WILSON DAFFODIL GARDEN, Coleraine, Northern Ireland (National Collection)
KATE AND DUNCAN DONALD, Croft 16, Poolewe, Wester Ross, Scotland (pre-1930s varieties)
COUGHTON COURT, Warwickshire (Throckmorton Collection)
BRODIE CASTLE, Nairn, Morayshire (National Trust for Scotland)
BROADLEIGH GARDENS, Somerset (many miniatures and Alec Gray hybrids)
Many other gardens have good drifts of yellow (albeit usually unlabelled) and often a wide range of interesting or older varieties, among them:
ACORN BANK, Cumbria (National Trust)
CASTLE FRASER, Aberdeenshire (National Trust for Scotland)
ERDDIG HALL, Wrexham, Clwyd (National Trust)
FLORENCE COURT, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland (National Trust)
GIBSIDE ESTATE, Tyne and Wear (National Trust)
GREENBACK GARDEN, Glasgow (National Trust for Scotland)
HOWICK HALL, Northumberland
KINGSTON LACY ESTATE, Dorset (National Trust)
RHS GARDEN WISLEY, Surrey
RYDAL MOUNT, Cumbria (National Trust)
SPEKE HALL, Liverpool (National Trust)
THREAVE GARDEN, Castle Douglas (National Trust for Scotland)
THE WEIR, Herefordshire (National Trust)
WESTBURY COURT, Gloucestershire (National Trust)
Finally, there are the expansive (and definitely unlabelled) views of daffodils “gone native.” For information about visiting Wordsworth’s daffodils in the English Lake District: nationaltrust.org.uk/aira-force-and-ullswater. To see daffodils in Farndale: farndale.org/daffy.htm. And to see daffodils in Gloucestershire’s Golden Triangle: daffs.org.uk.
Photo Credits
Page 143, courtesy R. A. Scamp, Quality Daffodils.
Page 147, courtesy Elise J. Havens, Mitsch Novelty Daffodils.
Page 148, courtesy Jay Hutchins, Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.
Page 150, courtesy Colorblends Flowerbulbs.
Page 151, courtesy Kirby Fong.
Page 151, courtesy Bob Spotts.
Page 152, courtesy Tom Stettner, Jr.
Page 153, courtesy Harold Koopowitz.
Page 153, courtesy Tom Stettner, Jr.
All other photographs are by Jo Whitworth.
Index
‘Abba’, 44
Abbey Wood, Bexley, 19
Abbiss, Walter, 123
‘Aberfoyle’, 204
‘Accent’, 204
‘Actaea’, 54, 202
affodily, 16
afody, 16
‘Albatross’, 79
Algeria, 35, 39
Allium ursinum, 169
Amaryllidaceae, 35, 65
Amaryllis, 35
American Daffodil Society, 103, 152, 207
‘American Heritage’, 39
American Horticultural Society, 93
Anemone nemorosa, 17, 190
‘An-Gof’, 51, 145
Annand, J. M., 82
anti-freeze process, 180
‘Apricot’, 39, 82, 203
Asphodilus, 16
Atlantic climate zone, 36
auriculas, 13
Australia, 89, 101, 107
Australian Daffodil Society. See Victorian Daffodil Society
‘Avalanche’, 204
‘Baby Boomer’, 148
Backhouse, Edward, 69
Backhouse family, 69–74, 168
Backhouse, Henry, 70
Backhouse, Robert Ormston, 69–74
Backhouse, Sarah, 70, 74, 141
Backhouse, William, 69, 70, 74, 75, 76
‘Badbury Rings’, 202
Ballydorn Bulb Farm, 40
‘Bantam’, 203
Barr & Sons, 77
‘Barrett Browning’, 204
‘Barrii Conspicuus’, 139, 203
Barr, Peter, 69, 75, 98, 116, 168, 182
basal rot, 146, 199
‘Bath’s Flame’, 159, 203
‘Beacon’, 57
‘Beersheba’, 79
bees, 64
‘Ben Hee’, 202
‘Beryl’, 90, 93
‘Binkie’, 202
biological factors, 12–13
‘Bittern’, 70
Bligh, Chris, 174
‘Blood Orange’, 82
Bloomer, Tom, 14, 40
Boothroyd, Betty, 145
borders, 187
‘Boslowick’, 204
Bowles, E. A., 79, 80
‘Bram Warnaar’, 204
Brazil, 102
breeders, 10–12, 138–159
breeding, 34, 103, 142–144
‘Brideshead’, 124
British crop, 116
Broadleigh Gardens, Somerset, 95, 187, 208
Brockbank, William, 68
Brodie Castle, Nairn, Morayshire, 82, 83, 85, 108, 154, 208
Brodie, Ian, 82–89
‘Broomhill’, 202
‘Brunswick’, 93
‘Bryanston’, 204
Bulbocodiums, 53–57, 58
bulbs, 116–120, 187
bulking up, 142
‘Bunting’, 51
Burbank, Luther, 103
Burbidge, F. W., 76
‘Butter and Eggs’, 137, 165–168
‘Butterscotch’, 104
‘Buttonhole’, 141
Byzantines, 61
California, 150–151
Camellia ×williamsii, 90
cancer patients, 27
‘Cantabile’, 202
‘Cantatrice’, 99
‘Carlton’, 43, 90, 91, 93, 95, 198, 202, 203
Carncairn Daffodils, 40
Castle Fraser, Aberdeenshire, 209
‘Ceylon’, 204
Chapman, F. Herbert, 125
‘Charity May’, 49, 190, 204
“Checquered Daffodill,” 16
‘Cheerfulness’, 204
Chelsea Physic Garden, 154
Cherokee Nation, 165–168
Chile, 102
China, 24, 194
‘Chinita’, 202
chipping, 142, 190
chrysanthemums, 13
Churchill, Winston, 136
‘Chy Noweth’, 40
‘C. J. Backhouse’, 70
classification systems, 75–76, 107, 155–158
climate, 36
clivia, 35
‘Codlings and Cream’, 62
Coleman, Cyril, 49
collections, 208
commercial production, 21, 34
compost, 180
‘Conspicuus’, 70
Copeland, William, 44, 67
‘Cornish Chuckles’, 125, 203
Cornish hedges, 131, 133
Cornwall, 21, 36, 114–137, 180
Cotehele House, 135, 136–137, 183
‘Cotterton’, 86
Coughton Court, Warwickshire, 208
Covent Garden, 75
/> ‘Coverack Glory’, 93, 203
‘Coverack Perfection’, 86
‘Crackington’, 44
‘Cragford’, 90
crocus, 164
Croft 16, 80, 89, 208
crop rotation, 121
cult plants, 13, 107
cultural factors, 13
Cupressus ×leylandii, 123
cut-flower industry, 120–121
cyclamen, 164
Cyclamineus, 47–50, 58, 93, 104
‘Cyclataz’, 94–95
Czech Republic, 107
daffadowndilly, 16
daffodil itch, 19
Daffodil Line train, 172
Daffodil Society, 107, 207
daffodily, 14
DaffSeek, 113, 207
dahlias, 13
‘Dan du Plessis’, 53, 125
‘Daydream’, 146
de Graaff Bros., 39
de Graaff-Gerharda, 44
de Graaff, Jan, 102
Diamond Jubilee, 27
dianthus, 13
‘Dickissel’, 202
discarded bulbs, 145
disease, 120, 141
diversity, centre of, 35
divisions, 37–58
‘Doctor Hugh’, 42
Donald, Duncan, 69, 80, 86, 89, 154–159, 168, 208
Donald, Kate, 69, 80, 86, 89, 113, 137, 154–159, 168, 208
Dorrien-Smith, Thomas Algernon, 126
doubles, 43–46, 64, 140
double snowdrops, 164
‘Double Van Sion’, 46, 168
‘Dove Wings’, 49, 202
DuBose, Sidney, 150
Duncan, Betty, 152
Duncan, Brian, 42, 44, 49, 141, 152
‘Dunkeld’, 86
Dunlop, W. J., 14
du Plessis, Dan, 123, 137, 141
du Plessis, Peter, 123, 125
‘Dutch Master’, 202
dwarf varieties, 203
early flowering, 125, 203
early growth, 180
early history, 61–95
earth-car, 133
Edgcumbe family, 126
‘Edge Grove’, 40
eelworm, 198
Eggink Bros., 14
‘Eggs and Bacon’, 46
Egypt, 61
‘Elka’, 95
‘Emerald Empire’, 147
‘Emerald Sea’, 152
‘Emperor’, 69, 137, 139, 203
‘Empress’, 69, 70, 139, 202
Engleheart, George, 54, 77–80, 82, 91, 94, 169
Engleheart, G. H., 57
English bluebells. See Hyacinthoides non-scripta
English language usages, 16
Enlightenment, 28, 62
Erddig Hall, Wrexham, Clwyd, 209
‘Erlicheer’, 204
‘Evangeline’, 79
‘Falconet’, 202
Favell, R. V., 67
‘February Gold’, 189, 204
‘Feeling Lucky’, 203
The Daffodil Page 13