New cultivars boost daffodil collection
9 March 2010
A Cornish daffodil collection begun two years ago has been extended to include more than 2,600 varieties, making it the largest collection open to the public in Europe.
The daffodil fields at Trevarno, near Helston, have been developed as a joint effort between two local daffodil growers: multiple RHS gold medal winner Ron Scamp, owner of Quality Daffodils, and Mark Vandervliet, who runs New Generation Daffodils.
They began planting the field at Trevarno two years ago, but last year the collection was boosted by the arrival of more than 1000 cultivars from Dutch daffodil collector Carlos Vanderveek, whose late father Karol held a world-famous collection - much of which is now represented at Trevarno.
“We've created a tremendous gene bank for botanists and researchers,” says Ron. “We've had people from America, New Zealand – the four quarters of the globe, really, to see Trevarno and the daffodils.”
Also among the Trevarno daffodils are more than 300 varieties bred by Ron at his Falmouth nursery, many of which have won an AGM, and also several rare and historically important cultivars. They include Ron's favourite, Narcissus 'White Lady', a tall variety with several lightly perfumed white flowers to each stem. Bred more than a century ago and awarded an AGM in 1898, it was once commonly grown as a cut flower but was largely grubbed up in the Second World War during the Dig for Victory campaign. Another old variety featured in the garden is the early 20th-century N. 'Mrs R.O. Backhouse', famous at the time as the first 'pink' daffodil.
The collection is now under consideration by Plant Heritage for National Collection status. The daffodil fields at Trevarno are open and at their best from now until late April.
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