Late Bloomers

Softly colored, elegant and well-rounded, Aircastle always speaks with an indoor voice. Tall and late : an ADS classic from Grant Mitsch that will never go out of style.

Perfection of form and consistency of performance are the attributes of this variety. The perianth is very rounded and flat, and in perfect balance with the small flat crown which is pale apricot lemon with a narrow margin of deeper shade. The perianth opens milk white but after a few days turns to greenish beige. A large flower of good substance and vigorous growth. One may go down a long row and find nearly every flower of exhibition caliber. A frequent show winner including awards for best flower in the Royal Horticultural Society's London Daffodil Show in 1963 and 1966. It has been a good parent. While the color does not appeal to every one, it is doubtless one of the best Daffodils we have raised.

Novelty Daffodils Catalog, Grant Mitch, 1971 p. 5

Albatross - a vigorous and showy old small cup.  Takes calm and patience to differentiate this bloom from its peers: White Lady, Seagull, Stella. Albatross has more orange in the cup that the others.  Bold and bright in the landscape : increases.

Flawless white and pink cup. Minutely mucronate.

Amore Mio. Lovely and lush pink cupped Jonquilla. Floriferous. Recent van der Veek Introduction.

Beefy and Bright April Queen is an older variety that is enjoying a newly found cult of admirers. A stellar landscape daffodil : Plant a few bulbs and in a couple of turns of the planet you will have a Queen's chorus. Blooms bright, tall and well out of the leaves. In zone 6a she is more of an early May Queen.

An antique double. A truly joyous bloomer that deserves a place in any border or cottage garden. Daughter of Telamonious Plenus and Ornatus. Given the parentage Argent should be expected to perform in the deep south, but I can't find any explicit mentions of that.

Rounded profile, the small cup is richly colored and broad. Towards maturity the segments of Arid Plains blanch from solid yellow to partially white. From Brian Duncan.

Sometimes you need to be brassy to stand out from the cacophonous crowd. Rounded, smooth, and substantial, Armidale can make a very large and flawless flower. A yellow / orange small cup with a punch from Brian Duncan. Limited.

We hesitate to deem Beautiful Dream as a good "filler" flower for the bouquet, although it succeeds any way you see fit to use it. Because of its gentle nature and its ability to elevate its neighbors, you may overlook its strength, frilly cup and lovely coloration. Like all things Grant Mitsch there is perfection here, but perfection does not exclude gentleness. Pollen and seed fertile. Granddaughter of China White. Don't be shy, we have a good stock of this daffodil.

Bebob is an Alec Gray miniature Jonquil with rich two-toned yellow color. Ma and Pa Bebop were both species, Daddy appears to be a poeticus. Confident like Mary Lou Williams and punchy like Dizzy Gillespie. Scented and petite.

Bobbysoxer -- such a funny orange face on this Alec Gray jonquilla. Floriferous, friendly, fun. Diminutive but stands tall in the close-up garden bed and rockery. Old, but not a miniature nor a historic . ADS Classic.

It's hard to fill a truck selling Boslowick, he is so perfect, so broad faced and calming that you only need to one bloom to make your day. But please, take two bulbs, or more ! A very well ordered and well behaved split cup, with a profound color. A good grower for us, a perfect thing like most things Ron Scamp. See also Jabberwocky. Limited availability.

Broomhill is a tall, all white, mid-century large cup. Broad, overlapping petals, strong structure and flanged cup makes her a solid shower. Broomhill is a member of a rich bloodline - Beersheba, King Alfred and China White are ancestors. Very slightly misty green at the base of the cup. Seed fertile, Broomhill has been a seed parent for many all white, show worthy cultivars. ADS Classic.

Orange on Orange is one of the rarest color combinations in daffodildom. Cameo Flush delivers color, substance and form in equal amounts of overabundance, Some animals are more equal than others.

Cameo King

An offspring of the double white daffodil Kiwi Magic. Both from New Zealand, Cameo Magic is a soft white, luxurious double bloom that is hexagonally well organized. On a good day tough to beat in competition.

Cameo Star

There is a stable of Brian Duncan White / Pink small cups that we find so rewarding it is hard to pick a favorite. Camilla Clara Kate is so robust and substantial that we think it is time to close the book. A stem like a utility pole, a bloom without weakness. An example of why we love small cups. A lovely competitor that ought always to be in your quiver as it is always easy to find a flawless bloom.

An orange rimmed white small cup from Clive Postles brimming with movie-star charisma. The actress Carole Lombard, nicknamed by publicists as Curvy Carole was a child star in the silent movies before making a successful transition to "talkies": specifically in screwball comedies. In 1942, returning from a rally selling $2 million worth of war bonds in her native Indiana, Carole's life and career was cut short by a tragic flight via TWA ( aka The Worst Airline ) . As a fellow Hoosier I can attest that this is a really stellar bloom. Limited.

A bright, contrasty and colorful jonquil, Chappie is a miniature a that is welcome in most any rock and closeup garden bed. The rounded light yellow perianth matures to near white, making her even more alluring. Late 20th century. Can work the bench.

All white small cup with an intense, cherry pink rim on the cup Cherry Glow is a newer Brian Duncan cultivar. Substantial flower on a substantial plant. Cherry Glow would be our choice to take to a show, she pushes the upwards boundaries of small cup. Great stems.

Towering over the tazetta bed every year is Chinita, an original poetaz with a very broad flowers and unusual clear primrose color. Pick it early to protect the cup from sunburn, the petals from blanching. Downright thrilling in the vase. Singular.

Where were you when you first saw Chipper? A meteor shower of vertically pendant blooms with compound color leaving a trail of wavy and reflexed petals. One to start a collection with, one to end with. We hang out together with Chipper a lot in the Spring.

Clare is just the cutest little miniature jonquilla with a flat colorful cup. Perianth is a lighter yellow. An Alex Gray daffodil from mid century. Comparable to but distinct from Sun Disc and Bebop. Usually one flower per scape. ADS Classic.

Sired by Corofin, Clovelly Ayr is a bright and scented late poeticus from Ron Scamp.

Dainty Miss is a siren's song in the garden. An all-white jonquil she goes it alone, only one two-inch perfectly appointed, dainty-cupped flower per stem please. Wanting a chorus of Dainty Miss for your garden is only natural. Compelling. Benchable. Highly mucronate. Miss Dainty is an ADS Classic, Wister Award winner, a mid century spell of Grant Mitsch witchcraft.

I am a bit dubious as to the advisability of classing this as a jonquil hybrid, but its pedigree lends validity to this placement. A most de- lightful little flower that might be compared with Xit, but it is larger and a flower of more rounded form. Grows much more upright than Ocean Spray. The very flat over- lapping perianth, and small saucer shaped crown are glistening white. Hardly eligible for the miniature class, but a beautiful addition to the smaller varieties sometimes designated as intermediates.

Novelty Daffodils, Grant Mitsch, 1971 p.9

Who would pick Dr. Fleming out of the Spring Intelligence Service line-up? Like all of the frilly faces, carrot-faced or not, old Alexander is a reliable thriller. Dr. Alex sports a white halo that is quite rounded and overlapping for such an older cultivar : We are trying to remember if we have ever seen Alex wearing a ribbon.

A work of sorcery that everyone wants when they see it. Edged in Gold is a very late, miniature jonquilla that brushes its golden color outside of the lines. Magic on the bench. Edged in Gold deserves to be in every rock garden. Fragrant. Up to six tiny flowers per scape. Bred by Steve Vinsky in Oregon.