Gardening from Scratch

My family has always gardened. I cannot remember a time when there was no garden. During my childhood, the emphasis was on vegetables; and the weeding, hoeing, gathering the crop, and canning or freezing all cut into my play time! But gardening became a way of life, and now I would not have it otherwise.

Each of my gardens in adulthood have begun with bare land; we built our first two houses, and our current home is situated in woodland which had only the space for the house cleared. And while in that first garden tomatoes and a few other vegetables found a place, the emphasis has been on flowers.

That first garden was a sunny garden on clay soil. In due course I joined a garden club and was required to make entries. And here I discovered "show" daffodils! At one show, a lady distributed a list of good daffodils from The American Daffodil Society, along with a list of where these daffodils could be purchased.

I make no apologies for selecting cultivars for their exhibition potential, but most of them have also proven to be good garden daffodils. My earliest list of purchases (1967) included 'Festivity' at the then princely sum of $2.20, 'Sweetness,' 'Knave of Diamonds,' and 'Beryl' which are still in my garden today. And all can still win ribbons. I have moved my garden four times, so if a cultivar is still with me, you know it has earned its place and can withstand harsh treatment. 'Sweetness' and 'Beryl' are still available in the trade.

In recent years, some "show" daffodils that have done wonderfully in the garden include the pink and whites 'Fragrant Rose,' 'Refrain,' and 'Culmination.' 'Notre Dame' (pictured) has a pink rim on an otherwise white flower. (Can you tell I like pink daffodils?) All have good color and stand up well in the garden. 'Elixir' is a wonderful double yellow daffodil, with strong stems that hold the flower up in rainy weather. It seems to be less susceptible to "bud blast" than some other doubles. 'Dainty Miss' is an all white smaller flower, about an inch and a half in diameter and officially considered a jonquil hybrid. It comes one to a stem and is absolutely enchanting. If you like yellow and orange/red daffodils, look for 'Falstaff,' 'Sportsman,' 'Loch Lundie,' 'Torridon,' and 'Shining Light.' And for a really smashing white large-cupped daffodil, you can't beat 'River Queen.' These have all done well in my garden over the years. These range in price from $3 to $8 per bulb, right in line with the price of a quart-sized perennial.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic