The daffodils are going to be all over this year.

I have had daffs in my garden since I started with the garden and many years I add afew each fall. But last fall I went nuts and added hundreds. I just walked around the yard and gave it a close inspection and the dafffs are making an appearace all over the yard. The ones I had from previous years have the tallest folliage out already (even thought thats not really tall) but it looks like I am going to have good increase on them as I can see where I had a row of single bulbs I am getting some clumps coming up.

But I put in this mini terrace section on the left side of my yard that is a hill and planted daffs running accross in both small terraced sections. Then I put them running accross the other garden bed on the other side of the front yard, in back of the two rows of daylilies. On top of that I have another terraced section and I put daffs up there with tulips in front of them. All this will be easily viewed from the street.

To make the daff show even better the front yard walk leading out from the porch to the street now has daffs on both sides lining the walkway and I know that will look grand when they bloom.

I have new daffs also in some sideyard gardenbeds but I noticed that the ones in the front are up more as its sunnier. The sideyard is plenty sunny in the summer but shadier in the fall.

I bought lots of fancy types of daffs, including deep orange trumpets and pink trumpets from Brent and Beckies. Plus I also bought mixes by the hundred bag. Those I ordered in the spring. But late summer I ordered more from Scheepers. I got fancy mixes and early flowered ones too. I didn't mark the varities as to were I put them, I just wanted spring color. So more variety bags.

I am just really excited seeing them coming up so I just had to post. I am so looking forward to the spring show.

Sounds lovely. Can't wait to see your show. Please post. Patti

Newyorkrita, I agree that the daffodils in the shade are taking longer to bloom than the ones planted on the same day in the sun. You're are going to have a spectaclar show once they all start blooming with the different layers that you've done.

And I have much fancier ones than I had ever gotten in the past. I should have quite the mix of different colors and shapes.

Got any names of your new ones. I have a new batch that I am trying too.

Blazing Starlet
Daphne
Queen Anne's double
Centannees
Wena
Altun Ha
Amadeus Mozart
Prototype
Chipper
Velasques
Taurus
Moonflght
Art Nouveau

and some others that I hadn't added yet to the garden, never enough! Patti

Patti, where do you get your daff bulbs? I've also got Art Nouveau, Taurus, Delnashaugh, My Story, Apricot Whirl, Eudora, Golden Ducat, Popeye, Lovecall, Sovereign, Tripartite, Double Fashion, Petit Four, Cum Laude, ,and Extravaganza.
I've also go Mount Hood, Fortune, Gentle Giant, Ice King, Ice Follies, Gentle Giant and Giant Golden trumpets. I've got a wish list for this year and I'm looking for the best prices.

Cem9165, I have listed my sources below. The number following the name indicates the number of cultivars that I have bought from each vendor, not the number of bulbs which would be way higher.

You will see that Brent and Becky, Eflowergarden which also owns Touch of Nature, as well as Van Engelen who also owns John Scheeper are my three major sources. Those 3 also have huge end of season sales around Thanksgiving where I go hog wild and buy all the ones that are more pricey at 40 to 50% off. I do always order at full price the ones that I know I really want as I am always afraid that they will sell out. Which is often the case for the new ones. In fact, I have already placed my first spring bulb order of the season with a new wholesale supplier for me call A.D.R. though I ordered mostly Tulips from them. I will be doing my fall bulb orders from all the rest as soon as they post their fall catalogs. Can't wait.

There are a few specialty growers that I would love to buy from, but those are mostly way to expensive for my blood as they are mostly sold to those who enter shows. Not my thing, though I love to go see the shows. I have been quite happy with the choices from White Flower Farm recently, as well as the Old House Garden , which is a great source for some historic ones. Buggy Crazy has closed, sadly. David Burdick is a delightful guy who grows specialty narcissus mostly for shows and I will order more from him this year. But only his lower priced ones. He has some gems.

I know lots of people who buy from Colorblends, but I just haven't found anything that I couldn't get from one of my regular suppliers, though I hear good things about them. As for prices, I too do a list of what I want and who has it in a quantity that I want and at the best price. I like to order either a big number of one type for naturalizing or in 3's or 6's so I can have as many different ones as possible in the garden. Plus they usually spread so fast that I don't see the point of buying 12. Then there are the coops for amazing buys.. Bleek who owns eflowergarden and Touch of Nature is great for those each year, and there have been others too, but those days seem gone on DG. But I keep an eagle eye out for those just in case.

I am working on a detailed spread sheet of all the ones that we have which I will have done by summer that will be linked to all the labeled photo's that I have taken of our kids each spring. I use daffseek for all the research. Great site. I joined the American Daffodil Society because I loved this amazing database which they sponsor, plus they send out other interesting information. But often the information is more for the hybridizes or show people, which I am not.

If you have good sources that I don't know about, please, do tell. Our crocus have begun to bloom, so the Daffodils aren't far behind. Patti

http://www.daffseek.org/

Patti, thanks for the link. Last fall I ordered for the first time from Colorblends, Brent and Becky's, Bloomimg Bulb company and Van Englen. I've also used White Flower Farms in the past, and the Netherlands Bulb Company. The bulbs from Colorblends were huge and healthy. Netherlands Bulb co. had good prices as well. I'll have to check out Eflowergarden. Annette

Brent and Beckies has a really nice selection but Scheepers was less expensive. If you want to try Dutch Iris, deffinately get them at Scheepers. Plus if you want mixes of Daffs, Scheepers has nice mixes.

I got a lot of my bulbs from Van Englen this year since I did some mass plantings.

Well, I am seeing the flower spikes coming on many of the daffs but nothing is near blooming yet.

I am amazed that they all sell many of the same things at different prices, some higher, some lower, so I check each one that I want out at all the sources. Plus the coops that I find are sometimes excellent. The minium number is also sometimes key for me as with some I want a lot and others a just a few. Lots of work to save some bucks. But when I am planting thousands, it really adds up fast. Patti

I've bought from 2 co-ops in the Classifieds this week and I'm thrilled with the prices. I hope there will be a good bulb co-op this summer/fall for the bulbs that need to be planted then.

My first daff of the year is almost open. I am amazed at how much color and how near to opening some of them are and that happened from yesterday morning to this afternoon. It must be the warmer weather. At least it was warmer yesterday, turned colder today again.

I have one that looks close, but not yet. It is Narcissus Rijnveld's Early Sensation and it bloomed on March 21 last year, but some years not until April. Hope it is soon.

Mine Too! The one almost open is from a planting of Rijnveld's Early Sensation I put in last fall.

At lest some of those daffs are ready to open and one was open yesterday. This morning we have a dusting of snow. It's raining now so the coating of snow will be washed off soon but I was not expecting to see white ground when I got up this morning.

Pictures of daffs blooming from this morning. We had a dusting of snow which is now gone in all the sunny spots but still around in the shade.

These are R Early Sensation planted near a tellis I have that has honeysuckle blooming all summer. I planted these daffs in the fall and there are tulips in front of them which are coming up now (also new from the fall).

closer

The daffs on the other side of the yard.

my daffs are finally coming into bloom! Not opened all the way just yet on the larger ones. My Tete-A-Tete are blooming now.

newyorkrita, so nice to see. Yippee. Mine will be out, if not already when I get home on Sunday. I will have to go out with a flashlight to check them out as I won't be able to wait until Monday morning.

irisluvr0252, Tete-a-Tete is simple, but oh such a perfect performer that it is one of my favorites. Patti

yes, it is my favorite.....it's an early one and I think that is why I like it so much! I was able to pick a few and take to work with me this morning!

I think it has been a strange spring for the daffodils. Now, I never had as many before as this spring because of all the ones I added this fall but I am noticing that while my daffodils have started blooming already (mainly the early ones) others are just breaking ground now. Different micro climates in my garden as I can tell the ones that are barely up are in colder spots not getting the sunshine that some of the others so. Of course, come later in the spring with the angle of the sun those not as sunny beds get plenty of sun. Full sun for most of them.

The early daffodils just keep looking better as more of them are open. I was going for a two layer look what with the daffs on top and another row in the bottom lower terrace. But I see that I need lots more daffs below to get the look I was going for. Well, just have to plant more bulbs this fall.

Looking great. I have only a couple out so far so you are way ahead of me. Patti

I have lots more daffs that are getting near bloom, others no way near ready and still others just breaking ground now. I guess I will have daffs opening for awhile.

I have 50 each of York Minister and Maria planted on each side of my front walkway and the first of those, one York Minister is open today. It wasn't open this morning but got itself open this afternoon.

The daffs are much more open and provide spring cheer. It is so early here that the roses aren't even leafed out yet.

They look really great en mass like that and all open now at the same time.

Rita,

Very pretty and it's really going to look cool once everything is in full gear and your snow is gone. Only think I hate about mixing daffs with other plants is that then we have to endure weeks of ratty looking foliage....drives me crazy. Although I know you like to plant lots of daylilies and those probably mask and serve as a better transitional plant than anything else.

Please keep posting pics!!

Steve

I didn't get to post much earlier this year due to work obligations taking about every minute of my time but this was taken on March 13 of this year...

Hi Steve- I was just thinking of you this morning and thinking I had not seen you posting pictures of your spring blooms.

Snow is gone already unless we get more and we shouldn't this late in the year. Everyday more and more daffs come out but I still have ones that are just breaking ground now while others are blooming. More of those fancy daffs I was writing about in my post of March 30th are coming open and they are so pretty.

I hate the dying ratty folliage after bloom also but I think it is well worth it to put up with it for the spring blooms.

Not only do I have lots of daffs this year, but new tulips I planted last fall and about 700 Dutch Iris that I also planted last fall and that have come up really nicely this spring. Waiting for them to bloom.

Steve- Glorious! You posted that while I was typing. Told you I missed your pictures. My daffs are only so early here becuse of the addition of those Early Sensations that started the daffoldil show. Blooms should continue here for along time.

Rita, can't WAIT to see your DI bloom...one of my favorite spring-blooming bulbs and IMO far underutilized in today's gardens. You have the advantage of being near the coast so generally your winters are milder than they would be in the interior at the same latitude and DI might well return for you. At any rate, they're cheap and one of the most cost-effective bulbs you can plant...and do they put on a show.

I love your garden with your old house and wrought iron fence as a backdrop. Really makes for a pretty setting. Keep posting!

This is from mid-March. Still have lots of holes to fill in. the bed in foreground is a couple years old and the ones behind it are in third spring. Have peonies, daylilies and lilies in all three of these which is why some of the bare spots.



This message was edited Apr 3, 2011 10:22 AM

I love the circular garden, looks great. Wish I had the room to do something like that but I don't have the room. I just love all the daffs, they add so much and look good no matter what setting they are planted in.

In fact as many as I added last fall, I am already planning on ordering lots more to add this fall. But before I order any bulbs I am waiting to see all mine bloom this spring for me.

That trellis has honeysuckle vines on it and they bloom all summer. I have lots of many different types of honeysuckle here as I love it. So do the hummingbirds.

You know I have been obsessing about the Dutch Iris for afew years. Tried them in spring but it never worked out. Just went for it last fall. I really do hope they come back for me but we will see. What I plan to do is order more in the fall and plant them elsewhere, not were these I have now are planted. Then wait and see. That way I will have Dutch Iris in the spring and I can wait and see if these I have now come up again. But I would at least have bloom. I am hopeful that they will come back.

Meanwhile your Dutch Iris pictures definately were a big push for me to get my own going. You know that I am just crazy about the blooms, they are so beautiful. I have a thread about my Dutch Iris on the Iris Forum. complete with pictures.

I think this one is called MARIA. They started blooming in the front yard. I love the vivid color on these although the flowers are small (but cute).

closeup

Meanwhile those R. Early Sensation Daffs in the front yard by the trellis look really good this morning.

same grouping

Here they are with the trellis showing. They just look so bright and happy to me. Love the en mass effect.