On my way into work, I pass several banks and grass verges which are covered in daffodils. They look really lovely at this time of year. Try as I might, I simply can’t get daffodils to do well in my garden. Or crocuses either, for that matter. Christopher and I must have planted well over two hundred bulbs over the years, but they simply refuse to naturalise. Each year, fewer and fewer shoots come up, and of those that do emerge, even fewer manage to bud and flower.
I don’t know whether I’ve got the wrong type of soil, or if my garden just isn’t sunny enough, though even the bulbs I planted on the sunny south-facing wall can hardly be bothered to flower. I did wonder whether the bulbs get disturbed by the mice / squirrels / moles that frequent the garden, but if so they must be very selective, as the snowdrops and bluebell bulbs seem completely unaffected. I think I’m just going to have to accept that, if I want daffodils in my garden, I’m going to have to treat them as an annual and plant them afresh each year. Which really isn’t my idea of low-maintenance gardening!
