Sunday, April 26, 2009

Daffodils - Division 11, Split Cupped Daffodils

This is a diverse group of daffodils, even though they are all lumped together as split cupped daffodils. They do all have split cups, but are very different in appearance. We also have a number of these we have bought as seedling mixtures. Probably half of the thousands of daffodils in the gardens are ones that either are not registered or named or ones that we've long since lost/forgotten the names of.
This first on this morning is 'Shrike'. The color on the cup can vary from very pale to quite dark and often changes over the time that each blossom in out so that there can be several different colored blooms on the same plant at the same time. Occasionally you even get that different color at the base of the cup. This may be Hank's favorite of all of the daffodils in the garden.
The next one is 'Pink Holly' and has a much smaller cup. It is pretty reliably pink even in years when a lot of the other pinks are closer to and apricot sort of color.

This one is 'Moonlight Serenade', one which was new here last year. The flowers are much better this season. This is a rather unusual color for daffodils, sort of a French Vanilla shade.
'Love Call' is a more traditional color.



This last is 'Colblanc', a pure white. It is so much all the same color that it is almost hard to see that it has a split cup.


Well, this is the big day, opening day for the nursery for the season. All of the perennials are ready (except for those late sprouters that haven't made their appearances yet). The miniature hostas are in place and a few of the trees. The large hostas will stay on the ground for today and as soon as I think we aren't going to have any frost, they will be put into place. As strange as it sounds, I alphabetize them - the only way I can find things when people ask for a particular one since we always have several hundred different ones potted up - so continual rearrangement is frustrating. Some years I have put then on the benches, then under the benches, then back up several times and I just decided that I won't go through that this year. I need to bring more trees down from their winter home too, but it just got way too hot yesterday to finish the job. Maybe between Church and watering everything that dried out in the heat and wind over the last 2 days, I might even get some of the trees and shrubs put in place. A lot of them haven't leafed out yet either with this cold spring (up until now) that we've been having. The oaks are especially late this year.
Off to a busy day.
Jane




3 comments:

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Jane your photos are simple beautiful ! .. I have not seen these types before ! where have they been all my life ? LOL
I am going to keep an eye out for them in the Autumn and try to squeeze them in my garden some where .. you have me intrigued by them now : )

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

Some more I don't have. I had better add the names to my want list.

Hoot Owl Hollow Nursery said...

I didn't know all of these either until about a dozen years ago. I am just in love! I have seen some of the split cup and double types in assortments at Lowe's. I get most of mine from Brent and Becky's Bulbs. They've been in business forever and have just wonderful stuff. Breck's has a lot of unusual ones in their new catalog also. If you want to see all of the ones that I'm not posting in the mornings, just check in the photo gallery section of my website under spring bulbs and you can see about 200 more.
Jane