I am joining in with Cathy‘s meme this week with a vase of daffodils from the orchard.
On a previous post I have complained about the daffodils being such a mixed bunch of big ones rather than carpets of little Narcissus pseudonarcissus like the ones at Warley Place in Essex. OK, I have to admit to being a bit of a daffodil snob; I love little Narcissus and the later Poet’s Eye, Narcissus poeticus but the big, blowsy ones are a bit too Municipal Park to me. Besides, I don’t know any of their names, and I hate not knowing the names of plants.
But today, the sun is shining and I took the time to really look at them and I was surprised at how many different varieties there are. I picked one of each for my vase.
With the daffodils I used Forsythia, Skimmia japonica subsp. ‘Reevesiana’ and Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ which has nice green leaves now and needs cutting down anyway. The little pussy willow catkins are from the lovely Salix purpurea ‘Nancy Saunders’ which is elegant and beautiful all year round.
Looking at them each individually, I have to admit they are all rather lovely. I feel sorry that I have lived here for nearly 5 years without appreciating them before. Here are a few of them.
Nothing says Springtime quite like the lovely daffodil.
Daffodowndilly.
She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
‘Winter is dead.‘
A.A.Milne.
Thank you to Cathy at Ramblinginthegarden for getting us all picking flowers and appreciating what treasures we have in our gardens. It is lovely to bring some of the garden into the house. Why don’t you join in?
Chloris
The Blooming Garden 
Beautiful! I hope they fill the house with a nice fragrance too.
Some of them are beautifully fragrant. The house does smell lovely at the moment, my daughter brought me a big bunch of flowers with lots of hyacinths so there are delicious smells in all the rooms.
Sunlight and springtime! 🙂 Although the poeticus are among my favorites too, there’s nothing like that early-spring jolt of yellow when we need it most.
I agree, yellow is the colour of Springtime. I am starting to appreciate my big, blowsy daffodils.
LOL-don’t feel badly, I am the same way. In your lat pot-I agreed with you about having the same ones throughout the garden-tee hee…but I agree “now”, when you put them in a pot-well-it makes you look at them differently. They are stunning-love that peach one:-)
you have inspired me to plant some new ones!
Yes, I like the one with a peach trumpet too. I think it is called ‘ Salome’. But when you look at them properly they are all lovely.
last post-typo!
Beautiful, all of them, Chloris! And I’ve always liked that quote.
They are lovely and they remind us that cold days are over now. What can be prettier than a meadow of dancing daffodils?
Indeed.
I love this post and the little poem…says it all for me. I also have so many varieties and don’t know their names either….You have many that look familiar to me. I will see some blooming soon and can’t wait to gather bunches for vases. And the scent is amazing. Isn’t it funny how we view our gardens differently once we bring the flowers inside…thanks to Cathy.
I look forward to seeing yours in a vase Donna. I enjoyed your little irises this week.
I think we all tend to downplay the flowers we did not plant. I am a daff snob, too, and only grow white ones! But I think that looking more closely helps one to appreciate what one has. It certainly nicer not to be annoyed when those flowers pop up but to be able to enjoy them along with your own choices. I think I am finally at that point, too.
I prefer white ones too and the smaller ones. But I think I am overcoming my prejudice now and looking at these big, blowsy ones with new eyes. They are actually rather beautiful.
They are gorgeous and your arrangement is very nice. Perhaps you could simply give them names as people seldom remember what you tell them about plant names anyway. Let’s see, how about N. ‘Boadicea’, N. ‘Queen of Spring’, N. ‘Vernal Cheer’, N. ‘Prozac’, etc. Happy new week!
Thank you Peter. I could try giving them made up names if you think I would get away with it. I don’ t know about Prozac though. Nobody would believe that one.
Nothing says spring to me more than a lovely clump (or bunch) of daffodils. I used to only like the yellow ones or yellow and orange, but I find I am now veering towards to white ones more and more. Glad you are enjoying the variety more now, but I know what you mean about a hotch potch of colours, shapes and sizes. I think we must like order in our gardens!
I am not a very organised person and my garden is not very orderly. I am so untidy I drive myself mad. So I think with me, it is just that I think there is much more impact with just one colour. Having said that I enjoyed the mixture of colours and shapes and sizes in my vase this week. I agree with you about white ones though, they are my favourites.
Lovely! I prefer the traditional yellow ones, especially smaller varieties and white ones. I’m not so keen on the orange or frilly ones. xx
I know you like white flowers, well I agree Thalia and Mount Hood are two white ones which I think are gorgeous. I love the small ones too.
I suppose because they are hard to grow here, I love them all, big, small, various forms. There are hardly any I really dislike, so your vase today is perfect.
Thank you Christina, I am glad you like it.
Your municipal gardens and ours are very different places indeed! Your Narcissus collection is absolutely wonderful and I love the combination your created this week. I’d like to have a broader variety in my own garden – I must remember that when it comes time to order fall bulbs. Unlike tulips, daffodils fare relatively well here, even with our ever drier growing conditions.
Thank you Kris. I think I shall order a few more next year too. They are lovely for a vase.
There’s nothing quite like daffodils in the spring. You have such beautiful colors.
Indeed, daffodils sing out’ Spring!’ I love the white ones Thalia and Mount Hood best, but also the one with the peach trumpet is gorgeous. I think its Salome.
So glad you’ve come to terms with your narcissus collection. I like them all. You’ve presented them very lovingly in that pretty vase.
Thank you Susie. I am pleased with the effect of them all together in a vase.
AA Milne was really on the ball there – I think we all need to dance around the daffodils in our gardens quoting this each spring 😉 And how jolly yours look with the sunshine the green background and the various leaves and stems you have leaved. I am the same as you with names but at least I know that despite it being an old property 99.99% or thereabouts of things in the garden have been planted by me, so unless the label has gone then i should know what they are. I think yours with the yellow rim might be St Patrick’s Day which I planted some of but which for some reason are no longer there. Thanks for taking time to pick and share today 😉
Well I enjoyed picking them and looking at them close up which I have never done before. So I have you to thank for that. I shall always pick bunches of them now. In fact I might even add some more different ones next year. I looked up St. Patrick, and I think you are right.
Love those daffs and love the poem too! This meme does make us look at plants differently doesn’t it. I have decided I need some of these taller daffodils just so I can pick them for a vase!
Gorgeous photos Chloris. Looks like you’re having some nice sunshine. 🙂
Thank you Cathy. They are nice for a vase, this is the first time that I have picked them. Yes we are having wonderful weather, it was 20 degrees today, absolute heaven.
They are all lovely, Chloris! They have to be my favourite spring flower! I feel the need to plant more. The shrub cuttings all add to the composition, but I especially like the pussy willows. Their slate gray colour adds a contrast and picks up on the flowers on the jug. What an unusual shade!
Thank you Ali. The Salix ‘Nancy Saunders’ is a delight all year round. It has maroon stems and very delicate silvery leaves as well as dainty little catkins.
Your vase this week is a delight. Those daffs are bright and cheery and I suspect that in the depth of Winter when all around is brown, you should take a look at the pictures and use them to remind us what lies ahead. Spring provides such eye candy!
You are right, if I look at these photos next Wnter they will make me long for Spring. They do cheer the spirits.
Your poor unloved daffodils, you must stop discriminating against them!:) I prefer the smaller and more elegant ones too to be honest but I think it is easy to say ‘oh I dont like large daffodils’ or whatever and really miss out. I am glad you have looked the large daffodils in the eye and made friends
I have really changed my mind about them, they are all beautiful and many of them are fragrant.
What a lovely post! All your daffadowndillies are scrumptious! I must say though, that I have fallen deeply in love with the white one with the peach trumpet on the left of the posy….now why don’t I smell daffs???? Shame on me!!! I shall do that first thing…erm…..brunchtime tomorrow. Sadly I’m no morning person.xxx
They are not all fragrant. You have to sniff them all to see which ones are. I’ m not a morning person either. I would like to be at this time of the year when the mornings are all sparkly and the air fresh and unbreathed.
The spring bouquet of my dreams!!! They’re delightful, Liz. The hot temperatures shortened their season in my garden this year but now Babymoon is starting to flower – do you know it? Such a darling.
gorgeous variety!