My Top Five daffodils to buy right now
Nothing but narcissi. Daffodils for days. The first in a seasonal series on the best spring-flowering bulbs to get in the soil this autumn
Hello, you’re reading The Earthworm, an alternative gardening newsletter that takes a sideways look at the world of plants. The Earthworm is an independent, reader-supported newsletter. That means no ads, no sponsored content, and no editorial direction from anyone other than yours truly. The two best ways that you can support the work I do is to share this post with a friend, or consider upgrading to a paid subscription (gaining access to exclusive content in the process). Thanks for reading.
Can one ever have too many spring-flowering bulbs? The answer, of course, is a resounding yes. Will that stop us spending a small fortune on plump little onion lookalikes between now and the new year? Of course not!
Let’s be clear: I have no space for more bulbs in my borders. I also diligently recovered and stored the tulip, iris, allium and daffodil bulbs that had brightened up the patio this spring. Assuming I pot all of those up again this autumn – and why not – there will be not a single cubic inch of compost left to house any additional newcomer.
And so as you might expect, I currently have well over a dozen tabs open on my web browser, with shopping baskets so full of bulbs that they’d be too heavy to carry, were they not conveniently fashioned from noughts and ones.
If you’re a sensible, savvy, forward-planning, grown-up gardener, you’ll have long since purchased your spring bulbs. You may even have pre-ordered 2023’s tulips while still enjoying 2022’s display. It won’t surprise you to hear that I am not one of these people. Planning has never been my strong point. Rather, when I see a patch of bare earth, I am motivated to fill it with immediate effect.
The trouble is, if you wait until the trees have shed their leaves and your herbaceous perennials have slunk back beneath the soil, it’s too late. Not necessarily too late to bury a bulb and enjoy its bloom a few months later – you can plant bulbs surprisingly late in the season. No, too late to acquire the best-looking bulbs.
Even now, many popular cultivars are showing as sold out or out of stock. And so even though my garden borders are still full of flowers; even though my patio pots are still occupied with fruit and veg; even though there is not an inch of top soil to be seen, I must look ahead to February, March, April and even May, and start plotting. And so must you.
I am all too aware that we here in the UK are experiencing a cost of living crisis. I know that many people will be struggling even to pay their energy bills. In this context, buying bulbs may not feel like a huge priority. There are, mercifully, some relatively inexpensive ways to enjoy spring flowers other than going on an online shopping spree. You could swap some of your existing haul with your neighbours, for example, or buy bulbs in bulk then split them between a handful of interested parties.
Or you could just lustfully peruse the photos below and leave it at that – in much the same way that I frequently browse Rightmove for multimillion-pound detached properties with sea views, a few acres of land, and maybe a wall garden, even though I’m a couple of lottery wins away from being able to afford such a home.
Regardless, for the next few weeks, paid subscribers will receive a run-down of the spring-flowering bulbs that I myself am most lusting after at the moment. New varieties, overlooked classics, unusual must-haves, the whole caboodle.
This week: daffodils.