By Debby Looney, gardening expert

With autumn comes the promise of spring. In other words, once September is here, we have the joy of planning, colour coordinating and choosing the bulbs which are going to bring us out of the long winter months and into the bright new beginnings of the gardening year.

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Suffice to say, I love bulbs. I also marvel at them each year, how such a dry, shrivelled little item can produce such blooms. I must admit, when I buy bulbs, I promise them as well as myself, that I will not spend money again next year, that this is the last time I will plant bulbs, that I now have the most beautiful choice there is, and so on. However, once the season starts, and I am faced with the photos on the boxes, not to mention the choice my ‘inbox’ receives, there I am buying again. There are always some pots or new areas that need filling!

Daffodils are one of the largest groups of bulbs and possibly the easiest to grow. They are split into 13 divisions – but no, I will not detail each one, that would be tedious! The proper Latin name for daffodil is Narcissus, named after the Greek mythological Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection, and who, on realising this love could not be returned, melted away and turned into a flower. The most common divisions are; trumpet, which would include the common yellow daff, large and small cupped, and the pheasant eye daffs would be an example of the smaller cupped division. Tazetta are the daffs which produce more than three flowers per stem, such as paperwhites. Bulbocodiums have dominant coronas, while jonquils are generally small with five to seven flowers per stem.

How to plant them

When planting daffs, or any bulbs, make sure to plant them the right way up! The pointier side goes up – now, this might seem like common sense, but first timers and children are not always too sure. Plant the bulb down three times its own depth with a little compost or grit in the bottom of the hole. A teaspoon of bonemeal can be added in the bottom also, but make sure the bulb does not touch it. All bulbs prefer well drained soil, though daffodils do put up with fairly wet conditions.

Some great varieties to try are: ‘Avalon’, a large cupped variety with big lemon yellow flowers. The corona is paler and fades to white with age. ‘Golden Ducat’, an old and reliable double yellow daff, ‘Pink Paradise’, one of my favourites, a double daff, which is white with pink. It is also scented. ‘Merlin’ is white, with a small, bright orandge corona – it spreads well. ‘Minnow’ is a very popular dwarf daff with three pale yellow flowers to each stem, growing to about 20cm. ‘Tete-a-tete’ also remains a popular dwarf variety, it naturalises well. ‘Rip van Winkle’ is another small variety with spikey double flowers. It will not tolerate wet! ‘Thalia’ is a beautifully scented, delicate looking white variety bearing two flowers on each stem. ‘Mount Hood’ is probably the most popular and reliable large trumpeted white daffodil available.

It is well worth looking out for unusual varieties – I certainly think it is worth paying a bit extra for something different, but do put them in pots, or a special spot, where you can appreciate them!