These aren't your Grandmother's daffodils

One of the first flowers to bloom for us on the farm are our daffodils.  Not just the standard canary yellow any more, daffodil colors can range from white to pale yellow, a touch of orange or pink, and even green!

Owning the latin name, Narcissus, there are 13 different divisions of daffodils - large cup, small cup, double (my favorite), and trumpet, to name a few.  

4 main reasons I love daffodils:

1.  Deer have a distaste for the them, unlike my poor tulips.

2.  Many will naturalize for you and spread from year to year.

3.  They are low maintenance as long as they are planted in a fairly sunny spot with good drainage.  Daffodils planted in too wet a location will rot.

4.  Fragrance!  

Tips:

When cutting your daffodils to bring their beauty indoors, make sure to only cut the stem, and not the foliage.  This will ensure ongoing blooms in future years.  The leaves need to remain on the bulb to continue to photosynthesize, thus delivering stored energy back to the bulb for next year.

Lastly, I always condition daffodils for 24 hours separately from other flowers after I cut them.  This allows the daffodil sap in the stems to drain out into the water, as the sap can interfere with other flowers' ability to hydrate.   After that, they are safe to mingle with other flowers in an arrangement, bringing their beauty to your table!