NEW DAFFODILS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 13 July 1929, Page 12

NEW DAFFODILS

Could ,lic have found li way to the Royal Horticultural Society’s recent ;daffodil' show, an expert, of the last 1 genor^iiohVwould have rubbed his eyes ;"i!i\tvonder/at the astonishing changes whicluaxe. being wrought among these f'dllwei'S (says the London ‘'Times”). Wo arc apparently only at the beginning of a revolution fostered by dalfo- ' dll' experts, in which, appropriately / enough, red is to the fore, though .. liberally cainoullaged ns yet by yellow to a brilliant orange shade. A Hash

of something like crimson Imre and (here in some id' lire newest (lowers, however, is probably only a, torefnste of what is to come. Hut the inroad of bright colour into a.Held hitherto mainly shared by whiles and yellows is not, the only change to astonish a horticultural llip \au Winkle ,for the bewildering multiplicity of types'aml the mingling of one type with another are sueh that the o’flieial classification of daffodils—in itself a thing of yesterday—must soon n-o by the hoard. Hardeners need not regret the change, for though this revolution lias brought forth innumer-

able examples of dalfodils which should never have seen the light of day. and only eumher the exhibition tables, they serve to enhance the perfection of beauty—in which colour, proportion, elegance, port, and even fragrance, all play llmir part —reached by a modest proportion of these flowers. I low far the lovely new dalfodils which are brought to 11m show table will survive the severe ordeal of general cultivation in this country, and prove themselves tilted for ordinary market or garden use is a point only the raisers know or time can decide, for there is a. gulf between show and

gulden blooms: but it- is a point, of supreme importance to gardeners who are not interested in dalfodils, however beautiful, which, are only for the show table, and gradually succumb to the moods of our climate or the rough and tumble of the garden. Nor are gardeners generally interested in daffodil bulbs costing their weight in gold; nl her people are, however, and it, is thanks (o such adventurers that bulbs of dalfodils which anyone may well cove! eventually descend from a golden ane |o one of bronze. The process is slew, and more Ilian a generation may pass before a desirable daffodil now priced at Colt a built reaches popularity at fis a dozen. That is the reason old favourites like Emperor and Empress, Gloria Muncli, Madame de Grnaf, Duchess of Westminster, Sir Wntkin, and the rest, are so slowly displaced for massing, or, if not displayed, have tu share the honours of the day with newer rivals. ’The ideal garden daffodil in usl have a robust constitution and siillicieiit strength of stem to withstand our vernal gales and snowstorms; an upstanding habit, too, is essential, and a colour which does not bleach in the sun—a weak point with many line Hewers. Only a few new daffodils survive the test, and those that do survive are obviously worth having. Menmvhilo, as anyone who looks in the florists’ shop windows or even at the street barrows can see, the general trend is upwards; and it is all to Urn good that the improvement, indue less to foreign intlueimes than to (lie paticnl work done by a lew keen ]irifish workers in I lie Held, like the veteran Englclmnrt, I*. D. Williams, the ISrodie of Krodie, Richardson, the, late Mrs Kaekliouse, l’eter Harr, and others.