Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » weeder’s digest: daffodils

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To be frank, they’re a little ridiculous, no? Say the word to yourself over and over again. Daffodil. Daffodil Daffodil. The court jester of flowers, complete with trumpet and collar. And the color, how would one describe it? Limonata, lemoncello, yellow submarine? Papaya-lemon-jellow-whip-chiffonade-sundae? You’re welcome, Benjamin Moore.

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Daffodilly. But irresistible in some strange way. The true harbinger of spring in the city; bottegas in every borough selling bunches of 10 daffodils for $5. How can one resist? I couldn’t, because between you and me, the shizzels are even cheaper wholesale. So I bought 40 or so. Daffodils are quick openers, and they were fully bloomed in an hour or so. I sat and looked over the yellow mess. What to do? What does one mix with daffodillius?

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I furrowed in the back for a simple vase and dug out a petite Chinese vase. Voila – perfection with three stems. I found an old tin pail and packed some in there. I cut the stems at different lengths to get a bit of texture and then stepped back to bask in the florescent glow…I started fantasizing about stenciling blue ducks in a border around my kitchen…Alarmed, I quickly disassembled the mess and went on to create something a bit more varied. Three poppies, a bit of mimosa, then filled it in with daffodils. Teal ribbon. Now I rest easier. Narcissus (the genus to which Daffodils belong) deserve more attention than this, to be conquered in coming weeks…but for now au revoir mes petits! Next week I come to you from Paris, France.

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garden, weeders digest

I have a particular fondness for daffodils as they remind me of my grandmother’s farmhouse. Every spring the entire house was surrounded by tulips and daffodils. (I am also reminded of that house and the land surrounding it when I think of plums, bird baths, vegetable gardens and peacocks… don’t ask)

I think that daffodils are my favourite flowers because a) they’re so cheap and b) they are grown locally. I don’t like to buy flowers which have been flown in from Africa, ever since I saw a War on Want report about the effects on the pickers. So, daffodils have my vote! They are my favourite thing about spring.

I have a fondness for daffs as well – http://www.sprout-flowers.com/2009/02/daffy-down-dilly.html

Just don’t mix freshly cut daffodils with tulips, as the sap exuded from them is toxic to tulips!

Daffodils are so emblematic of spring and promise and never fail to remind me of that lovely Wordsworth poem:

“And then my heart with pleasure fills, / and dances with the daffodils”

http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww260.html

Daff’s are great performers, but the solid yellow varieties are such a cliche! I urge everyone to seek out heirlooms and new varieties if you can. There are double daff’s in shades of peach and white that look like baby peonies. Miniature ones that resemble orange birds, and the list goes on……

Loved this post-LOL, especially the blue duck reference! My husband loves daffodils and imagines planting thousands of them in the median between the highway like the yellow lines on the road. One day…
Anyways, your arrangements are beautiful!

This is such a great post. We all do this – come home with a multitude of flowers that get lovingly crammed into various containers that sometimes work and sometimes don’t. Case in point… blue ducks. Thanks for a great laugh on this rainy morning.

Having worked in floral for a short time, I learned that nothing should be mixed with daffodils. They release some sort of toxin into the water that will quickly kill the other flowers. Just be aware. I suppose it is possible that there is something that you can mix in with them that isn’t effected, but I couldn’t say what it is.

sarah i have a quick question, i have a jade plant (one single stalk) that seems to be swimming in a huge pot and have been thinking about moving it to something smaller. is it a problem to use a pot without a drain hole in the bottom?

amanda

that’s what i thought, but i checked with sarah and that’s how she wanted it spelled. there’s a lot of fun spelling in this piece so perhaps it’s a little creative artistic license? if it’s not and she lets me know to change it i certainly will.

grace :)

hannah – the size of the pot is not a problem, but the fact that there is no drainage could be – just make sure you’re only giving it a bit of water once a week. jade’s like to be dry for the most part, and without drainage in the bottom, you don’t need to water it as often as other plants…i guess it is BODEGA, whoops.

Unfortunately, IF you can find daffodils in Fl. they are really expensive. By the way,I cant ever think of yellow daffodils (one of God’s “smile evoking” creations) as a “cliche’” as Jessika commented. But then again, maybe I like cliche’s….I even named my daughter Jessica (with a c)…

I have to admit, I have never been a fan of daffs (*gasp*)–so garish and in your face–though the double and fragrant varieties are finding their way into my garden…and heirlooms are always welcome.

I love weeder’s digest! And just to weigh in on the spelling debate — it’s totally fine to spell it bottega! That’s Italian for shop. The Spanish version, bodega, might be more common but it’s just an artistic choice which language to use.

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