Victorians
adored daffodils. They were grown in huge numbers for
the market gardens - more daffodils were sold than any
other kind of flower. They were beautiful flowers, and
they flowered early - enough to ensure their popularity,
especially in the smog-choked cities.
Then,
as now, there were a large variety of daffodils available
either for sale or as a bulb to the discerning gardener.
The group known as Lent Lilies, or trumpet daffodils,
including varieties such as Telamonius, Empress, Emperor,
and Maximus. There were also the group known as the
Incomparabilis, a group of 'nodding' daffodils
that came out later than the Lent Lilies. Then there
was the Poet group of daffodils (the Narcissus poeticus)
which were white or orange with ring in the centre of
the flower. There was also the polyanthus group of daffodils,
or the Narcissus tazetta, which produced flowers
in clusters, or umbrals.
Finally
came the Corbularia group of daffodils, or Narcissus
corbularia. These has very large trumpets, the
outer petals being much reduced, and were grown extensively
in pots for indoors.
These
five groups were the most popular, but there were at
least twenty other varieties Victorian gardeners could
choose if they wished to hunt them down.
There
was also, naturally, the native variety over which Wordsworth
enthused, but which did not, apparently, appear in many
formal gardens.
