In the splits

Yes, you know what it is; sometimes I have to choose and I can't choose at all because the choice is between a nice job and an even nicer job: Writing a news blog or taking care of the daffodil flowers in my greenhouse.

You may have wondered how I can tell you so much sense and nonsense about flower bulbs, but that is because I walk around them almost my entire life, all year round, and that is because of the greenhouse behind our house. In December, the Amaryllises are already blooming there.

Then come, the last Amaryllis have yet to bloom, the first Daffodils. Not dozens, no hundreds of types of Daffodils I plant in pots every year to force them to bloom in the greenhouse. I plant a pot of almost all types from our nursery every year. Not just because I like it. No, mainly to take photos that I can use in the Fluwel web shop because without photos you don't sell much. Of course I could also try to take the photos in the spring when the Daffodils are blooming in the field, but we really live too close to the coast for that. The chance of a flower-destroying storm in the open field is simply too great here. Many of you will now think 'oh, that can't be that bad? Well, come and live along the coast in the head of North Holland for a few years.

Three sturdy pine trees in the Pettemer forest towards Sint Maartenszee

I recently read it poignantly on a sign in Den Helder; You don't know what wind is if you haven't lived in Den Helder. A self-evident truth.

It can easily happen that you want to take a beautiful photo of a new Daffodil three years in a row and it blows to pieces every time it starts to bloom. So, plant it in a pot in the greenhouse, dry, windless, nice and warm and if necessary also have time to write a piece of text about it. While the Daffodils are still blooming in the greenhouse, it continues outside. Suddenly the snowdrops are in full bloom again and as soon as they have finished blooming the first Daffodils come to life outside again followed by the Tulips, the Alliums, the Peonies (yes, this year we are going to offer Peonies for the first time in the Fluwel webshop), the Lilies, the Begonias and don't forget the Dahlias all summer long. In between, of course, you also have to look at all sorts of lesser-known bulbous plants such as Zantedeschia, Crocosmia, Acidantera, Hyacinth, Muscari, Eucomis, Anemone and who knows what else. Before you know it, you will be walking regularly between the flower bulbs from December until well into October and if you do that for a few years, like me, you will know quite a bit about flower bulbs by the end. Boy oh boy, what a hard life I have.

Gladiolus callianthus Murielae

But now I am really in a split. The last Amaryllises are still blooming in my greenhouse and because of the extremely mild weather the snowdrops are already chiming and the flowering Daffodils are already teeming in my greenhouse. But now that I have to choose between the pleasant and the pleasant I might as well combine the two. Yesterday I was writing the greenhouse texts about a few new Daffodils in the Fluwel webshop and I will simply put that in the newsletter.

Creamy

As a parent you are of course never allowed to say it, but fortunately we as daffodil breeders have nothing to do with it, but Cremello is really one of my favourite daffodils. Lovely large flowers, beautiful in shape but especially that phenomenal colour. Simply unique, formidably sensational. If you ask me what colour Cremello is the answer unfortunately has to be yellow, yellow is yellow after all. But I have been thinking for two glasses of wine how I can best describe this special yellow coloured Cremello. Sweet yellow, mild yellow, limp yellow no that is wrong she is too tough for that. Sultry yellow, tender yellow, juicy yellow, calm yellow, good-natured yellow, velvety yellow hey that is a good one. Or maybe better friendly yellow or gentle yellow or something like tender yellow. Can you also call it fluffy yellow, maybe even erotic or sexy yellow. No, I am not that in love with the Cremello. Whatever yellow it is, one thing is for sure; beautiful she is and that she is and the color… sultry yellow, that is what it has become. Plant her and enjoy her sultry yellow and if you pick a few for the vase in the living room another shade of sultry yellow will appear.

Narcissus Englander

Another story I wrote this week is about the Narcissus Englander: a curious little rascal who is one of the first to come and peek into the garden with her long nose. The snowdrops haven’t even finished chiming yet or this Englander comes to announce the arrival of the Narcissus. At first glance a slender and tender looking Narcissus but appearances are deceptive. She is tough, blooms for a very long time and comes back for years. A real gem. By the way, these Narcissus are already available in the Fluwel web shop under the “Fluwel Special Narcissus”.

I have been asked several times last week why the Daffodils from our nursery were already available in the web shop and the other Daffodils and spring bloomers were not yet.

Most of the 'Vluwel Special Narcissus' collection was sold in the past by Frankie Charlton who in the past had a specialty trade in Narcissi for the English flower shows under the names Choice Bulbs and Miniature Bulbs.

Joyce & Frankie at an English Daffodil Show

His buyers were mainly people who also exhibit Daffodils at Daffodil shows. Frankie, together with his wife Joyce, showed his flowers at these shows, which start in the south of England at the end of February, and always made sure that he could offer them immediately to enthusiasts who showed interest in his varieties. Frankie still promotes Daffodils and now that we take care of the sales and shipping, we have supplemented his entire collection with all our own Daffodils put on-line so that Frankie can offer them to enthusiasts at the Daffodil shows.

Narcissus Beautiful Dream

Also of course the question why some are so expensive. Well, that is really supply and demand. A lot of demand and almost no bulbs. Take a Narcissus like The Godfather. Really everyone who sees her wants her, flowers almost bigger than those of an Amaryllis. If I want to keep my party going and let it grow a bit I really can't sell more than 20 bulbs. What would you do if you were in my shoes? It is the same with Narcissi that win many prizes at The Daffodil Shows in England and America. Many prizes means a lot of demand and if there are only a few bulbs available.

I think I should stop, and to think that I actually planned not to write a news blog this week... I really can't help it

Kind regards,

Carlos van der Veek.

One more then, the text of Beautiful Dream that I wrote this week. It is not without reason that I looked up that beautiful photo: Beautiful Dream, the dream that every breeder dreams; to breed such a beautiful large bright white Daffodil with flowers that radiate with joy. The breeder Elise Havens, who lives in America, also known as Grant E. Mitsch, has succeeded. What a Beauty, what a dream of a Daffodil. Every spring the Beautiful Dream, with its enormous fresh sparkling flowers, is an eye-catcher at our nursery. Now I dream the beautiful dream that they grow well and healthily for us and that I can offer them to hundreds of Daffodil lovers in the future. So far it is going well, they have never let us down. Here are the first bulbs.