In Greek Mythology Narcissus was a hunter who was famous for his beauty. He rejected all romantic advances, eventually falling in love with his reflection in a pool of water. A golden flower appeared where he died.

Daffodils are best planted in September while the soil is still warm but can be planted until December as long as the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. They do best in rich, well drained soil in full sun but will cope with partial shade. Enrich the soil before planting with some well-rotted manure. Plant three times as deep as the bulb. Feed as the growing points emerge with a general fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone. Deadhead after flowering to stop the plant using energy to produce seeds. Leave foliage until it starts to yellow and die back in summer – the leaves will continue to photosynthesise and feed the bulbs for next year’s flowers.

Dwarf daffodils such as Tete a Tete are great for containers and planting in borders as they do not flop or produce a lot of foliage. They have perfect miniature trumpets which are slightly darker than the surrounding petals. They are early, blooming from late winter. The small wild daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus will naturalise well in lawns, as will the Tenby daffodil, Narcissus obvallaris, native to Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire. 

Another small and delicate daffodil is the Jonquil, Narcissus ‘Simplex’, which is highly scented, often with several flowers to a stem.

The Paperwhite daffodil is said to have the strongest scent of all. It can be planted out in sheltered gardens but is usually grown indoors where it flowers around Christmas time. It has pure white blooms.

The Pheasants Eye or Poet’s narcissus (Narcissus poeticus) extends the season, blooming in late April. This is an old variety which is scented with white petals and small red rimmed yellow trumpets. Although this is known as the poet’s Narcissus, it was the wild Narcissus pseudonarcissus that Robert Frost was writing of in his famous poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ containing the line ‘Two roads diverged in a yellow wood’ referring to the woods of Dymock in Gloucestershire, where the poet lived for a while, and where the woodlands are still carpeted with daffodils in the Spring.