My Garden, April 30th, 2001
© All Photo's by Clay Higgins
My gardens are usually bare of daffodil blooms at this time of year, however, as I've stated previously the year 2001 is different. I didn't go to a daffodil show the last weekend in April and wanted to give you a show of the blooms left in my garden. That just didn't work out as the hot sun into the high eighties "fried" the daffodils as they bloomed. Here it is May 2nd, and I'm still getting blooms in my garden worthy of a blue ribbons at a daffodil show.
My strongest is the division 7 jonquils, followed by the division 3 short cupped, and on the outside the division 9 poeticus daffodils. They are followed by the remainder of the field, including division 5 triandrus daffodils, split corona daffodils. Even a few double daffodils such as 'Smokey Bear' and 'Hot Toddie' are just coming out of the gates. Triple crown time is on our hands.
This first picture is of 'Eland' 7W-W, one of the most beautiful white jonquil hybrids in my garden, with all due respect to 'Pueblo' and 'Oryx'. It's petals are generally flat and the entire bloom looks round.
Another of the most beautiful jonquils in the garden and show bench is the reverse bi-color 'Intrigue' 7Y-W. 'Intrique' is in many more winning daffodil collections than is 'Eland', however, that could be because I grow many more 'Intrique' than 'Eland'. I find that 'Eland' is hard to get "right" each year, but worth the wait, where 'Intrique ' provides show quality, cookie cutter, flowers year after year.
Another of my very consistant "cookie cutter" division 7s is 'Stratosphere' 7 Y-O. The color code is yellow petals, and an orange cup, however, most years it looks like a pure yellow daffodil. This spring with some of my 'Stratosphere' daffodils in a "hot" spot on the south slope and when they opened when it was still very cold, and they were truly Yellow with an Orange cup. I do think it was the cold, as it was a very cold winter and spring here.
Not to be left out are my late division 3, short cupped daffodils. This is a picture of 'Jake' 3y-goo. I understand from the internet that it, just this past week-end won best in show in the U.S.A., at a mid-west daffodil show, and at another in England. It is very bright in the daffodil bed and calls attention to itself from far away.
