Daffodils

By Mary Jo Baur

If you haven't ordered some bulbs through Dracut Garden Club from Brent and Becky's website, please consider doing so. (See link in sidebar of this page.)  The choices may seem overwhelming, so today I'd like to mention some of my favorite daffodils that you might like to try. There are actually 13 different divisions of daffs.  They are divided by certain characteristics. 


Trumpet daffs are probably what most people think of when they think of daffs.  They have one flower per stem and a large, long cup in the middle.  In this category I have grown 'Bravoure,' which has white petals and a long yellow trumpet.  


The next division is large cup.  The best known in this group is one called 'Ice Follies' which has creamy white petals with a wide, yellow cup that turns whiter as it matures.  It's a good perennial as it multiplies easily.  I also like 'Chromacolor' and 'Accent' which have white petals and coral or salmon colored cups.  


Among small cups, I recommend 'Barrett Browning'--it's delightful with glowing white petals and reddish orange cups. 


I think Division 4 is my favorite, the doubles.  These daffs look more like a rose or camellia since their center is not a trumpet or cup but has multiple petals.  I love 'Cheerfulness' and 'Acropolis,' and this fall I have ordered 4 others in this group to try--Bridal Crown, Delsnashaugh, Double Smiles and Sir Winston Churchill.  The photos look great in the catalog and I look forward to seeing them bloom in my garden next spring.

Next time, I'll write about some of the other divisions.  Really, there are more daffodils than you can imagine!