Some daffodil varieties are perfect for naturalization - this is when you plant the bulbs and then leave them to their own devices. Over the years they propagate themselves eventually forming a dense colony - with little or no help from you! Many gardeners like to plant wide swaths of bulbs in the lawn where they can enjoy the bright flower each spring (but the area isn't mowed until the daffodil's foliage yellows and dies).
There are about 50 species of daffodils (Narcissus spp.) and many thousands of named cultivars of garden origin. You can call them daffodils or narcissi. The name, "jonquil" is used for daffodils that have cylindrical stems and 1-5 (rarely eight) fragrant flowers per stem. There are so many different kinds of daffodils that horticulturists have classified them into 13 divisions. Here Floridata presents the division definitions and one or two examples from each.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee;
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company
I gazed, and gazed, but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought;
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Click the arrow to walk through the Daffodil Gallery
