Trumpet daffodil crowned flower bulb of the year for 2014!

Yellow and white

Good old reliables include ‘Dutch Master’, ‘Golden Harvest’ and ‘Standard Value’ – familiar cultivars from the previous century. ‘Mount Hood’ produces white flowers.

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Two colours

In the varieties sporting two colours, the trumpet has one colour and the petals another. The yellow trumpet and creamy white petals of ‘Bravoure’ and ‘Topolino’ set these cultivars apart. The orange trumpet of ‘Akita’ is particularly eye-catching, while the special shape of ‘Art Design’ makes it a truly unique cultivar.

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Flowers year after year

One of the daffodil’s strong points is that this spring-flowering bulb can be left undisturbed in the soil and produce more and more flowers year after year. This makes daffodils perfect for naturalising – as long as they are planted in a sunny location. After flowering, leave the foliage attached to the bulb for as long as possible, provide dried cow manure or compost in the autumn, and you will have flowers every spring for the next 5 to 6 years.

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Planting

Daffodils can also be planted in the grass on the condition that mowing is not done until the plants have died back. This means either delaying the first mowing until the foliage of the daffodils has withered back or mowing only the grass between the daffodils until then. The rule of thumb for planting is to plant the bulbs twice as deep as the bulb is tall.