Brightening up a Woodland Space: Planting Daffodils
Daffodils for Woodland Planting
This planting is what I refer to as the drainage point. It is a narrow bed hidden near my greenhouse, that acts like the name says as a drainage point for the rest of the garden due to the overall slope of the land. In the near future it will be home to several unique woodland plants, however even with them, it is lacking in one thing and that is spring interest. To combat this lack of early spring color I have planted two daffodil cultivars. Usually it is recommended that for this kind of planting, small flowered daffodils would be best. The two I have selected are larger flowered hybrids and there is reason to what some may consider heresy. This small planting is right next to a future cut flower garden, a garden that will be exuberant in bloom in comparison to the more dab greens that this planting will consists of. As such the daffodils are a spill over from the cut garden and help link the two into one unit. They're color is also in contrast to the rest of the planting. Here and there sprinkled throughout this shady nook are several other bright eye catching jewels, again they are there to unify the two plantings.
Daffodils for woodland plantings are a excellent choice.They aid in abating the winter blues and giving hope that the garden lives on despite winter's cruelties.That alone should earn them a place in anyone's shady planting
Design Aspect and Ecology
As stated above the daffodils used deviated from those typically used in similar plantings. Typically small flowered or species daffodils are used in woodland plantings due to them being more natural in appearance. In this planting I made the exception as the nearby cut garden required an outflow of exuberance into the nearby nook planting. A outflow I was all too willing to allow. The bulbs are planted in areas to which their foliage may add to the planting rather than distract from it. This is done via two methods. The first is planting with surrounding vegetation that will outgrow and hide the dying foliage. The second is parenting the bulbs in a way that foliage while in the green adds to the lushness of the planting. This is one of the major complaints with daffodils, in that their foliage is often an obtrusion and viewed as messy and too broad. Remember to never to tie or cut off the foliage will they are in the green, they should die back naturally. It is for this reason that these bulbs in this planting are planted in a manner in which this dying back can be hidden away and thus not damage the planting as a whole.By the time these bulbs are dying back surrounding plantings will be awakening and overtake the daffodils foliage. Daffodils shouldn't be something to be ashamed of, yes many of the modern varieties are by no means delicate but who wouldn't want some big strappy leaves after a winter of browns and the white of snow!
The early blooming of these bulbs is excellent for both us and native pollinators. Many of the early bees have been observed visiting the flowers of other daffodils in the garden. Of these the majority of have been more heavy set bees such as Xylocopa varipuncta along with the honeybee,Apis mellifera .Several early season butterflies have also been seen feeding from the flowers of daffodils within the garden. We even get the development of seedpods on our bulbs , however these are cut off as they would rather waste energy on this endeavor verse bulb production and we don't want that. These new daffodil planting shall add more food to the cold plate for these early season pollinators.
Cultivars Used
Narcissus 'Fortune'
A taller growing hybrid with a height said to reach 14 to 16 inches, the blooms are 4 inches in diameter it is little wonder that this cultivar is classified within the large cup division. The bloom color is a milky yellow with an orange cup. In common with all other member of the genus , this cultivar is deer resistant and good for lawn plantings. Flowers are reported to last long in the vase, but we shall see about that, so watch this space.
Narcissus 'Slim Whitman'
Another member of the large cupped division , this cultivar is similar in height and flower size to the previous however the corona of the flower is now white with a yellow cup. The cup is slightly ruffled. Flowers one bloom per stem and is reported to flower early spring to mid-spring. Named after a country singer Slim Whitman.
How to plant Daffodils
Daffodils are relatively easy to plant.They defer from many other members of the family Amaryllidaceae in that they require a deep planting verses that of other members such as the Crinum that prefer they have the neck of the bulb exposed. As a rule of thumb it is recommend to plant twice the height of your given bulb. I deviate from that rule and like to plant shallowly . This allows the bulb to find its own preferred depth within the soil. many bulbs do this via the use of contractile roots , which are roots that dig the bulb to appropriate depth. This avoids the problem of creating blind bulbs due to deep plantings. The one downfall to this method is that one runs the risk of damaging the bulbs when planting a perennial on top of the bulbs, but this is well worth the risk, just make sure to note the locations of your bulbs, preferably with photographic evidence and dig carefully.
The bulb where planted in two patterns. The first was used on Narcissus 'Slim Whitman' and it followed the wave planting classic of many prairie gardens. The bulbs would interweave among several perennials and help link up this grouping all of which are evergreen minus one Hosta. The second method that was utilized was the creating or irregular shaped clump.This clump was planted in front of Crinum x prowellii and in fact intrudes inwards into the Crinums own growing space. The creation of these irregular shapes creates a more naturalistic and relaxed looked.One criticism I have on Daffodil planting is the simply tossing of the bulbs into the air and planting them where they land. Yes it is random but the overall look is to singleton and messy.
 |
| A Narcissus 'Slim Whitman ' bulb waiting to be planted amongest its neighbors |
Daffodils for woodland plantings are a excellent choice.They aid in abating the winter blues and giving hope that the garden lives on despite winter's cruelties.That alone should earn them a place in anyone's shady planting
Design Aspect and Ecology
As stated above the daffodils used deviated from those typically used in similar plantings. Typically small flowered or species daffodils are used in woodland plantings due to them being more natural in appearance. In this planting I made the exception as the nearby cut garden required an outflow of exuberance into the nearby nook planting. A outflow I was all too willing to allow. The bulbs are planted in areas to which their foliage may add to the planting rather than distract from it. This is done via two methods. The first is planting with surrounding vegetation that will outgrow and hide the dying foliage. The second is parenting the bulbs in a way that foliage while in the green adds to the lushness of the planting. This is one of the major complaints with daffodils, in that their foliage is often an obtrusion and viewed as messy and too broad. Remember to never to tie or cut off the foliage will they are in the green, they should die back naturally. It is for this reason that these bulbs in this planting are planted in a manner in which this dying back can be hidden away and thus not damage the planting as a whole.By the time these bulbs are dying back surrounding plantings will be awakening and overtake the daffodils foliage. Daffodils shouldn't be something to be ashamed of, yes many of the modern varieties are by no means delicate but who wouldn't want some big strappy leaves after a winter of browns and the white of snow!
The early blooming of these bulbs is excellent for both us and native pollinators. Many of the early bees have been observed visiting the flowers of other daffodils in the garden. Of these the majority of have been more heavy set bees such as Xylocopa varipuncta along with the honeybee,Apis mellifera .Several early season butterflies have also been seen feeding from the flowers of daffodils within the garden. We even get the development of seedpods on our bulbs , however these are cut off as they would rather waste energy on this endeavor verse bulb production and we don't want that. These new daffodil planting shall add more food to the cold plate for these early season pollinators.
Cultivars Used
Narcissus 'Fortune'
 |
| Narcissus 'Fortune' |
Narcissus 'Slim Whitman'
 |
| Narcissus 'Slim Whitman' |
How to plant Daffodils
Daffodils are relatively easy to plant.They defer from many other members of the family Amaryllidaceae in that they require a deep planting verses that of other members such as the Crinum that prefer they have the neck of the bulb exposed. As a rule of thumb it is recommend to plant twice the height of your given bulb. I deviate from that rule and like to plant shallowly . This allows the bulb to find its own preferred depth within the soil. many bulbs do this via the use of contractile roots , which are roots that dig the bulb to appropriate depth. This avoids the problem of creating blind bulbs due to deep plantings. The one downfall to this method is that one runs the risk of damaging the bulbs when planting a perennial on top of the bulbs, but this is well worth the risk, just make sure to note the locations of your bulbs, preferably with photographic evidence and dig carefully.The bulb where planted in two patterns. The first was used on Narcissus 'Slim Whitman' and it followed the wave planting classic of many prairie gardens. The bulbs would interweave among several perennials and help link up this grouping all of which are evergreen minus one Hosta. The second method that was utilized was the creating or irregular shaped clump.This clump was planted in front of Crinum x prowellii and in fact intrudes inwards into the Crinums own growing space. The creation of these irregular shapes creates a more naturalistic and relaxed looked.One criticism I have on Daffodil planting is the simply tossing of the bulbs into the air and planting them where they land. Yes it is random but the overall look is to singleton and messy.
Comments
Post a Comment