Spring dancers in ballet tutus
How yellow became my favorite color
Like many gardeners, I have a problem with the color yellow. As much as I love sunshine in the sky, yellow always looks somehow clunky and kitschy in my flowerbeds. Daffodils, for example, were rarely on my shopping list in the past. Most flowers are somehow related to yellow, and I definitely prefer the subtle and broad color palette of tulips. Of course, planted wild in the vast meadows in front of English country houses, daffodils look magnificent. Although, I can hardly think of any plant that wouldn't look magnificent in front of an English country house. My garden, however, is unfortunately more the size of a shoebox, and here the flowers have to bring their own poetry, since they can't borrow it from their surroundings.
My relationship with daffodils only fundamentally changed through the Slow Flower movement. Slow Flower farmers cultivate cut flowers professionally with great idealism. In North America, England, and increasingly here in Germany as well.
Locally grown, seasonal, and organic, the original aim was to offer an environmentally friendly, sustainable alternative to florists' flowers, which come from overseas and are often produced under appalling conditions. However, to supply high-quality, interesting flowers for the high-end floristry sector, a host of new ideas were needed. Roses in winter and dahlias in spring are simply impossible for a slow-flower farmer, as are exotic plants that have no chance of thriving in our climate.
But limitations, as we know, breed creativity. And so the small slow-flower farms searched for the most spectacular, extraordinary varieties of plants that could tolerate our local climate – and they found them. The resulting floral aesthetic is breathtaking.
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And for me, as a garden owner, this movement has become one of the greatest sources of inspiration in recent years. For me, daffodils are no longer simply yellow and white; they wear ruffled, peach-colored ballet skirts ("Delnashaugh"), creating little spring explosions in the flowerbeds (“Replete”), smell stronger than the most intense jasmine (“Bridal Crown”) and enchant me with their apricot-colored, edged trumpets on creamy yellow petals ("Blushing Lady").
The daffodil has become something like the rose of spring for me. I still don't really like yellow in the garden, though. But I'm happy to have discovered lemon, vanilla, buttercream, and peach as colors I enjoy, thanks to the new varieties.
First published in the 2nd edition of the beautiful Flower magazine let it bloom.
Our Daffodil collections Available again in the shop from mid-September!
