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The breezes of late April carry a sweet scent around my yard, enchanting me and enticing me away from the work of the day. It is the ambrosial perfume of the jonquils that stops me in my tracks, luring me to drink in its fragrance and taking me, oh so briefly, to a higher plane. Pure delight . . .

I seem to favor these beauties . . .

Jonquilla Narcissus ‘Garden Opera’, purchased and planted for no reason other than my daughter’s and my shared love of opera! These flowers stand about sixteen inches high and are no more than two inches wide. Almost every stem holds two or three blooms. This is their third year to bloom here.

Jonquils are typically small daffodils with narrow, chive-like foliage. They often produce more than one flower per stem. Their cups are usually wider than they are tall. And they are always fragrant! Rather than the sharp, acrid odor often found in trumpet daffodils, jonquils feature a more gentle, almost fruit-like fragrance that is a pleasure to the nose.

Jonquilla Narcissus ‘Yazz’ blooms in the lasagna bed. Out of ten planted in the fall of 2015, only two have bloomed this year, while the other narcissi around them have thrived.
Jonquilla Narcissus ‘Kokopelli’ blooms prolifically at the corner of the front walk, greeting guests with a sweet scent. Note the chive-like foliage!
Many of ‘Kokopelli’s’ stems hold three blossoms. These are in the backyard.
This Jonquilla ‘Cosmopolitan’ in the backyard has begun to fade, but you can still see traces of its pastel pinky-orange corona. ‘Cosmopolitan’ opens buttery yellow and turns white as it matures. You can read more about ‘Cosmopolitan’ by clicking here.
Jonquilla Narcissus ‘Golden Echo’ was a new purchase for me last fall. It’s a fairly short narcissus, no more than a foot tall. Its long snout-like cup is unusual for a jonquil, and reminds me of a schnauzer! I don’t care for that long corona, but I do like the golden yellow ring that surrounds it. Maybe it will grow on me.
‘Beautiful Eyes’ is a long-time favorite of mine, present in the Terrace Garden since 2016. Its scent is particularly sweet, almost fruity. It has formed some substantial clumps over the years! New flowers are yellow when they open; they fade to creamy white after a couple of days.

‘Beautiful Eyes’ is a favorite for sure, but here are two I like even better: ‘Geranium’ and ‘Sir Winston Churchill’, both hand-me-downs from my good friend Frank of sorta like suburbia fame. I’m really not sure how he could give up such beauty, but I’m glad he did!

Narcissus ‘Geranium’ is not a jonquil, but rather a Tazetta Narcissus. Tazettas are similar to jonquils, but may produce even more flowers per stem and send up several stems per bulb. They are among the more tender narcissi and are well suited to warmer climates. When grown in colder zones, it is recommended that you add a couple inches of mulch to better protect them over the winter. Their scent is also heavenly!

The scent of Tazetta Narcissus ‘Geranium’ is just heavenly. I can tell when it has opened without having to use my eyes!
‘Sir Winston Churchill’ is another narcissus with an outstanding fragrance. This one is classified as a Double Daffodil, though it shares characteristics with the tazettas and jonquils. Its flowers are about two inches wide and it stands about sixteen inches tall. It is a sport of ‘Geranium’ and smells perhaps even sweeter. Sadly, it has not taken well to its location; out of seventeen planted in the fall of 2020, only two bloomed this year.

It is the height of the daffodil season in my little corner of Pennsylvania now; what I’ve shown you here today is only about half of what’s currently in bloom. With temperatures more summer-like than spring (today we hit ninety-one degrees!), these mid-season flowers won’t last long, and we’ll be quickly on to the late bloomers. The tulips have just begun, and I’m seeing signs of color in the creeping phlox and candy tuft. It’s an exciting time, and I can’t wait to see what each new day and week brings!