More related content:<\/p>\n
- Britain\u2019s best daffodil walks<\/a><\/li>\n
- The most welcoming signs of spring<\/a><\/li>\n
- Britain\u2019s best spring walks<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div>
![\""Denbighshire,\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2018\/09\/GettyImages-632007107-c696045.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"GettyImages-632007107-c696045\"\\"\/")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>When were daffodils first sold in Britain?<\/h2>\n
Daffodils of all sizes and shapes have been seen in England since the 17th century; Shakespeare celebrated them as the flower that \u201ccomes before the swallow dares\u201d, and bunches of wild blooms were sold by flower girls on the streets of London. However, the farming of daffodils for cut-flower sales did not start until the late 19th century. <\/span><\/p>\n
In 1875, William Trevellick, a potato farmer on the Isles of Scilly, was struck by the semi-wild narcissi in full flower on the tracks and verges of his farm in January. He realised that by using the weekly freighter from the island then the railway link from Penzance to London \u2013 opened in 1859 \u2013 he could get these early blooms to the London markets within 48 hours of picking, and more importantly, weeks before they flowered on the mainland. Thirty experimental bunches, sent in a hatbox, earned Trevellick seven shillings and sixpence (37.5 pence), and a week later, more bunches brought him \u00a31.<\/p>\n
![\""Women\"]( "\\"\"Women-bunching-daffodils\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Traditionally, men picked daffodils and women tied them in bunches. (Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n Realising the scheme had potential, Scilly landholder Thomas Dorrien-Smith encouraged his tenant farmers to create bulb-forcing houses, plant shelter hedges and make special wooden boxes for the daffodils. Dorrien-Smith also obtained different varieties to ensure\u00a0longer supplies. In 1885, 65 tonnes of flowers were sent to the mainland; by 1889, this had reached 198 tonnes, and an industry was born.<\/p>\n
Watching the wooden boxes full of Scillonian daffodils pass through Penzance gave Andrew Lawry, farmer at Varfell, the idea of planting his own bulb fields. Although they could not rival the Scilly Isles for earliest flowering, there was more space for the fields and they were not subject to the vagaries of the boat crossing. The area around Varfell, overlooking St Michael\u2019s Mount, is known as the \u2018Golden Mile\u2019 and is still a centre of production. Gilles Deprez of Greenyard Flowers, based in Varfell, emphasises the importance of \u201cworking with nature and the unique and complex environment of Cornwall\u201d. The company works with conservation bodies, such as the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, to plant trees and protect soils.<\/p>\n
Daffodil facts<\/strong><\/p>\n
- The only species of narcissus native to Britain is the rather demur Lent Lily, more at home in orchards\u00a0\u2028and pastures than in the flower vase.<\/li>\n
- There are more than 26,000 daffodil cultivars, coming from a gene pool of 56 species, making choosing which ones to plant in your garden quite tricky.<\/li>\n
- \u2028\u2018Pheasant\u2019s Eye\u2019 daffodil is a member of the poets\u2019 group\u00a0\u2028of daffodils, Narcissus poeticus, which are thought to have been the first daffodils to be cultivated. They were described by the Greek writer Theophrastus in the\u00a0\u20284th century BC.<\/li>\n
- Today, Britain produces 90% of the world\u2019s daffodils<\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div>
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<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>How daffodils grew within the UK<\/h2>\n
With the south of the country leading the way, lovers of the daffodil soon realised the season could be extended by planting bulbs further north, and daffodil farming spread first to Lincolnshire and then Scotland. Utilising the new railways to rush the cut flowers to market, farmers would extend the blooms into April or even May. Indeed, with modern techniques of soil warming and delayed blooming, the daffodil can overlap Shakespeare\u2019s swallow at both ends of the season.<\/p>\n
Those first narcissi that travelled from the Isles of Scilly to fill the vases of the London suburbs were predominantly the \u2018Scilly White\u2019 and \u2018Grand Soleil d\u2019Or\u2019 varieties, but as the industry developed and spread into other regions, breeders developed larger and brighter flower heads. Foremost among these was \u2018Carlton\u2019, developed in Cornwall by Percival Dacres Williams (1865\u20131935). Williams named his many cultivars after Cornish villages or Celtic saints and was said to have an almost mystical approach to daffodil breeding, notably not keeping any records of his work. In Cornwall he was followed by Alec Grey, a grower and amateur archaeologist, who developed miniature daffodils for show and sale in pots, another aspect of the market. For the 38 years of its existence, Rosewarne Experimental Horticulture Station at Camborne, Cornwall, explored every aspect of daffodil growing and developed many new varieties still used today.<\/p>\n
![\""daffodil\"]( "\\"\"Daffodil-pickers\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Pickers on St Mary\u2019s in 1935 needed endurance for the back-breaking harvest (Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n Picking and planting the crop was traditionally a family business, with the men picking while the women worked bunching, tying and packing in flower sheds or barns. On larger farms on the mainland, local agricultural labour was used in the otherwise quiet period of the year, supplemented by itinerant workers. In the late 1950s, 3,000 people were employed in market gardening year-round in the Tamar Valley in Cornwall. In the spring, daffodil-picking season, the numbers were swelled by a further 10,000 workers concentrating on the famous Tamar \u2018Double White\u2019; the secret of its success lay in its good scent and the fact it flowered on the Whitsun bank holiday.<\/p>\n
How daffodils are harvested today<\/h2>\n
Today, recruitment agencies advertise for workers to start in Cornwall at new year and finish in Scotland in late May, with many coming from eastern Europe, a source of labour which may prove more difficult to source in the future. As well as being wrapped against the cold, pickers have to wear gloves and long sleeves to protect from \u2018daffodil itch\u2019 \u2013 a painful skin irritation that can spread to the mouth.<\/p>\n
Daffodils are picked in bud and stored at 1\u20132\u00b0C for their onward journey to the supermarkets and florists of England and Europe \u2013 a change from the past when they would be warmed to ensure they opened before dispatch. The only flowers to be sent open now are Narcissus tazetta, such as \u2018Pheasant\u2019s Eye\u2019, which are often \u2018pulled\u2019 rather than picked to give them longer stems.<\/p>\n
![\""Picked\"]( "\\"\"Cut-daffodils\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Daffodil pickers wear gloves to prevent \u2018daffodil itch\u2019 (Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n Depending on the scale of the farm and whether it also services the bulb industry, bulbs may be left in the ground for two to four years before being dug up (lifted), dried and sorted, with some kept for replanting.<\/p>\n
What was the daffodil plague of 1917?<\/h2>\n
However, keeping bulbs in the ground for several years makes them vulnerable to disease or climate fluctuation. Hardly had the industry set up than it found itself reeling from the effects of daffodil \u2018plague\u2019 in 1917, later identified as due to \u2018stem and bulb nematode\u2019. Hundreds of acres of bulbs rotted in the fields and the value of farms plummeted. Nematodes \u2013 tiny, worm-like creatures \u2013 were attracted by the eelworm that also infested the daffodil bulb; eelworms had multiplied due to poor husbandry during the First World War, 1914\u201318, when labour was short.<\/p>\n
In the inter-war period, increased use of glasshouses alleviated rot and resulted in more daffodils being produced in Britain than in any other country. But then, the Dig for Victory campaign of 1939\u201345 demanded that land used for cut flowers should be turned over to edible crops, and the rail transport of flowers was banned. Bulbs such as \u2018Fortune\u2019 \u2013 which, when first developed, sold for \u00a350 a bulb \u2013 were simply tipped on to verges and field edges, where they still flower today.<\/p>\n
![\""Troops\"]( "\\"\"Troops-picking-daffodils\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Soldiers stationed on St Mary\u2019s in the Isles of Scilly in 1943 take a break from duties to join the harvest (Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n Although daffodil farming has declined in some areas, the UK still produces 90% of the world\u2019s cut daffodils and exports to Europe and the USA; 80% of these daffodils are grown in Cornwall. Grower James Hosking recalls his parents sending their first boxes of Fentongollan Farm daffodils as gifts to friends; today, the farm sells flowers as well as local produce online. Personalisation is the theme at Scilly Flowers, a small family-run farm on St Martin\u2019s in the Isles of Scilly, where Zoe Julian and her husband Ben send beautifully packaged bunches of Paper White and Soleil d\u2019Or to customers by first-class post, via air or sea. A return to the original \u2018farm to vase\u2019 service that all started with a hatbox.<\/p>\n
Cutting-edge growers<\/h2>\n
Due to the harsh winter conditions, daffodils grown by sheep farmers in the Black Mountains of Wales for Kevin Stephens have extra high levels of a compound called galantamine, which is used in the treatment of Alzheimer\u2019s disease. The farm produces enough to give 9,000 sufferers their daily dose, but experimentation in the way the flowers are grown and the compound extracted mean the farm should soon be able to produce enough galantamine for 250,000 doses. They are now looking for new growers, who must have land at over 305m altitude to get the best galantamine.<\/span><\/p>\n
One of the best places to see traditional daffodils is Cotehele in Cornwall, where the National Trust is working with volunteers to save the old cultivars that were grown for market at the height of the industry. Collected from hedgerows in the Tamar Valley, there are more than 250 varieties here, including heritage ones from the 17th century.<\/p>\n
Where to see daffodils in the UK<\/h2>\n
Whether it\u2019s the robust yet dainty native wild daffodil or a host of golden cultivars, these vivid flowers are one of the first signs that spring is truly under way. Here is our pick of the best daffodil walks to enjoy this spring
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
1. Butley, Suffolk<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
Fringed by Rendlesham Forest\u2019s fir plantations, tiny Butley, and its fine display of wildflowers, is a delight to explore in April. The priory woods shine with daffodils, then bluebells across a long spring. Nearby is the extraordinary Staverton Thicks; ancient woodland with some of Europe\u2019s oldest trees.\u00a0suffolkcoastandheaths.org<\/a><\/p>\n
More related content:\u00a0<\/p>\n
- Take a boat to see Wordsworth\u2019s daffodils at Ullswater<\/a><\/li>\n
- Britain\u2019s best spring walks<\/a><\/li>\n
- Spring wildlife guide: where to see and how to identify<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div>
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
2. Isles of Scilly, Cornwall<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
![\""islesofscillycornwall-1610e47"\"]( "\\"\"islesofscillycornwall-1610e47\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Isles of Scilly, Cornwall\/Credit: Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n Lemony heads bob above golden sands and an azure sea on the sub-tropical archipelago of the Scillies. These fabulous flowers don\u2019t all end up as florists\u2019 bundles; countless escapee blooms riffle beside the myriad paths that hug the shorelines and crisscross the tiny islands, most notably St Martin\u2019s and Tresco. visitislesofscilly.com<\/a><\/p>\n
More daffodil walks<\/a><\/h3>\n
When to plant daffodil bulbs?<\/h2>\n
![\""Close\"]( "\\"\"Planting\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Planting bulbs now for spring helps the plants establish before the cold weather sets in. \/Credit: AKAY\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n To ensure your garden is filled with colourful daffodils in spring, the best time to plant is between October and December.<\/p>\n
How to plant daffodil bulbs<\/h2>\n
Dig a hole that is twice as deep as the bulb is in height. Place the pointy end of the daffodil facing upwards and cover with soil. Water well and wait for spring! Daffodils will often spread and multiply on their own in a three to five year period so with any luck you will have a larger display to enjoy.<\/p>\n
Main image: Getty images<\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
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- Britain\u2019s best spring walks<\/a><\/li>\n
- Take a boat to see Wordsworth\u2019s daffodils at Ullswater<\/a><\/li>\n
- The most welcoming signs of spring<\/a><\/li>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Troops\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/22\/2019\/03\/Troops-picking-daffodils-971df80.jpg?quality=90&resize=527%2C413"\" "\\"\"Troops-picking-daffodils\"\\"\/")
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