The many many Narcissus

Daffodil field in South East Cornwall. Mark Robinson. Wikimedia Commons.

Daffodils are quite the common sight this time of year in the Southeast US and warmer parts of Europe (where they originate). Winter being unusually prolonged this year has halted the majority blooms from opening up until April here, which is rather unusual even for cold years as they are the first large bulbs to bloom reliably each year.The fragrance is the mid-spring fragrance I associate with spring finally having come to my part of the world, with a sweet, musky, and earthy olfactory trinity. The flowers are easy to grow and care for for the most part, and I’ve seen them growing in even the worst types of soil and still blooming reliably.

Narcissus pseudonarcissus. Johnathan J. Stegeman. Wikimedia commons.

There are so many different types and species, that the easiest way for me to talk about them is for me to split them myself between the large cupped and small cupped species. There does exist a list of horticultural divisions of the species- check the wikipedia page for info. For the large-cupped species, the most common garden ones are N. psuedonarcissus– native to Western Europe, and growing in woodlands and crags all over the continent, wild or not. They are called wild daffodils for this reason, and lenten lilies due to their bloom period coinciding with Lent. These particular plants also last so long in the garden that one would think them native to old estates in the US as well, where a certain planting could easily be over 50 to 100 years old, surviving from the bulbs and their propagules planted so long ago.

There are many subspecies and hybrids to choose from, and they all share the characteristic earthy sweet scent with a fine musk, that even perfumes the air when grown in clusters. They come mostly in yellow and white and last for a couple weeks usually before burning out and being replaced by other bulbs.

Narcissus minor var. conspicuus. Daniel Mosquin. http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca

N. minor is the other main large-bulbed daffodil grown, and has a fragrance unlike its brother N. psuedonarcissus that is much more variable depending on the cultivar. Wilder makes note of this in The Fragrant Path, and talks about different species being scented like vanilla, magnolia, cowslips, or musk. I certainly can see all of these and have smelled enough to agree myself with this. These are often the grocery store daffodil bulbs, as they are a tad bit smaller and sweeter than N. psuedonarcissus, but not any less dazzling in the garden! Tomorrow (hopefully) I will get to the jonquils, as they are sweeter than their larger brothers. I would be remiss if March went by and I didn’t talk about them!

 

Those little cloying things

Narcissus papyraceus. Ceasol. Wikimedia Commons.

I had a long post that accidentally got deleted, so I might be slightly fuming over the big long post that just killed itself and be paying absolutely no attention to grammar when writing this, so be warned. Anyways, the other day I walked into my local Grocery store and saw those forced bulbs that make me cringe every year- Paperwhites. Paperwhites are essentially tiny, early blooming Daffodils which make up in fragrance what they lack in size. Part of me rejoices in seeing the tiny reminders of spring approaching, and then part of me cringes when my nose perceives what my eyes already have. Paperwhites are categorically thrown into my group of cloying plants that I wish people would just stop growing. Paperwhites and their categorical cousins, Hyacinths, are on my ‘do not buy’ list for one single reason- indoles. Indoles are chemicals which, to my nose, smell like well-used cat litter- fetid! However, not everyone can perceive the indole smell. Its said that pregnant women, and even women on their periods, are particularly sensitive to musky and fetid aromas, and I don’t doubt it has something to do with hormones. Men though do have an ability to perceive scents powerfully as well, which is why the most famous ‘noses’ in perfume businesses are men. I guess I was blessed with the ability to pick up the indole scent, but I would rather not have it for times like this.

While I personally cannot stand the scent of paperwhites for the indoles, people love them. Either they can’t perceive them, or just plain don’t care about it. I get a splitting headache at the odor, particularly in a warm stuffy room; but some people are just in heaven over the scent. Hyacinths are the same way- overly cloying, yet sweet enough to fly off store shelves every year. While Hyacinths to my nose aren’t fetid, they are just too strong, and one whiff from across the room is good enough for me for the year. I rejoice at seeing growing things again, but I also cringe at the fact that these plants are winding up in the hands of people who have no understanding of how to care for forced bulbs. Not that they’re particularly hard to care for, I just think any wasted plant is a loss.

Overall, paperwhites aren’t going away anytime soon unfortunately, but I can at least relish that their larger flowering relatives are going to be opening up outside soon. Maybe I can just avoid grocery shopping for the meantime…Its Lent anyways right?