Daffodils Blooming at My Farm
Brightly colored daffodils are blooming at my farm. And, looking at the swaths of white and yellow Narcissi gently blowing in the spring breeze always makes me so happy.
I started developing my long daffodil border in 2003, in the early years of my farm ownership. After lots of planning and adding to the collection, the border now extends the length of one side of my farm, from the Summer House, past the stable and down to the Japanese maple grove. Over time, some have faded away and are being replaced with other varieties, while others flourish. I’ve also planted daffodils in the garden beds outside my Tenant House, across from my chicken coops, near my main greenhouse, in patches through the woodland, and in various tree pits around my home, including those underneath the majestic allee of pin oaks - there, I planted a variety of Narcissi named after me, Narcissus ‘Martha Stewart.'
So many are blooming now. Enjoy these photos.
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- A little more than a week ago, this long border was filled with beautiful bold green daffodil foliage. One can see some of the flowers just beginning to bloom.
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- A few days later, large areas of daffodil flowers were open giving a wonderful show of color.
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- Narcissus is a genus of spring perennials in the Amaryllidaceae family. They’re known by the common name daffodil.
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- My daffodil border is broken up into various groupings – different varieties, different shapes and sizes and different blooming times. This provides a longer splash of color.
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- And here is the border now. This photo was taken just yesterday. I take stock of my daffodils every year to see what is growing well and what is not, so I can learn what to remove, where to add more, and what to plant next. The view down the daffodil border is breathtaking.
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- The species are native to meadows and woods in southwest Europe and North Africa. Narcissi tend to be long lived bulbs and are popular ornamental plants in public and private gardens.
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- The flowers are generally white or yellow with either uniform or contrasting colored tepals and corona. Narcissus ‘Professor Einstein’ has long been a popular daffodil. It is an easy grower and is sweetly scented. It has a substantial pure white perianth and a broad, disk shaped reddish orange crown.
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- Narcissus ‘Elizabeth Ann’ has white flowers with a cup rimmed in medium pink. Fertilize daffodils with extra phosphorous to encourage good root development, especially when they’re young.
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- Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ are large-cupped daffodils that rise to about 16-18-inches tall in spring. Each flower features white petals and a ruffled yellow cup that matures to a creamy white.
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- This daffodil has soft yellow petals and a yellow cup.
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- We’re expecting showers all day today. Normal rainfall will typically take care of any watering requirements during the spring flowering season. The most important care tip is to provide daffodils with rich, well-drained soil.
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- Daffodil plants prefer a neutral to slightly acidic soil. And be sure they are planted where there is room for them to spread, but not where the soil is water-logged.
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- The American Daffodil Society classifies daffodils by their flower shape. Including hybrids, there are more than 13-thousand distinct daffodil varieties in existence.
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- Few pests bother daffodils. The bulbs are actually quite unappetizing to most insects and animals, including deer and voles.
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- This cheerful daffodil, with its color contrast, makes a bold statement in the border. Cultivars with colored cups generally retain better color when planted in a little shade to protect them from the hot afternoon sun.
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- When choosing where to plant daffodils, select an area that gets at least half a day of sun. Hillsides, and raised beds do nicely.
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- We planted about three thousand bulbs in this bed located to one side of my allee of lindens. Most are from Many of this season’s bulbs are from Colorblends Flower Bulbs – a third-generation wholesale flower merchant in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. Among those we planted here include ‘Acropolis,’ ‘Barrett Browning,’ ‘Delnashaugh,’ ‘Cassata,’ ‘Snowboard,’ ‘Delibes,’ ‘White Lion,’ ‘Sir Winston Churchill,’ ‘Kedron,’ and ‘Segovia.’
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- Depending on the type of cultivar and where it is planted, the daffodil’s flowering season can last up to several weeks.
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- I planted early, mid and late season blooming varieties so that when one section is done blooming, another is just opening up. Consider this strategy to lengthen the blooming season.
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- I love mixing in these pure white daffodils, with their dainty petal and cup formations.
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- There are more daffodil varieties in the tree pits across the carriage road from my long border. These have double yellow blooms.
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- Narcissus naturalize very easily. Lift and divide overcrowded clumps in late June or July.
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- After daffodils bloom in the spring, allow the plants to continue growing until they die off on their own. They need the time after blooming to store energy in their bulbs for next year.
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- Daffodils can also grow in containers as long as there is room to multiply and room for the roots to fill out. They can bloom well for two to three years – after that, it’s best to move them to a spot in the ground where they can come up once a year.
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- In general, daffodils are easy to care for plants. Diseases common to daffodils include basal rot, various viruses and fungi.
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- Van Engelen Inc. knew my passion for Narcissi, and named a daffodil variety after me a few years ago – Narcissus ‘Martha Stewart’. I was so honored. I planted them under my allee of pin oaks. Driving down this road when these flowers are in bloom makes me so very happy.
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- These blooms show the distinct perfectly formed three-inch white perianth surrounded by the pale, yellow cup. Every year, these flowers naturalize and fill more and more of the pits around the trees.
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- And here are some of the daffodils cut and placed on my metal wall tree on my electrical shed. When cutting daffodils, they should be kept alone in the vase as their stems secrete a fluid that promotes wilting in other flowers. If you need to combine flowers, soak them alone first and then add them to the arrangements last. What daffodils are growing around your home? Share your favorite varieties with me in the comments section below.
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