Daffodils: An Easy Spring Flower for Beginning Gardeners

Being a beginning gardener is all about getting results for your hard work. No one wants to put in hours of work and end up with a few straggling flowers or none at all. While gardening isn’t about immediate gratification, it is about being able to enjoy and appreciate your hard work at some point. With that said, most beginning gardeners often wonder which flowers are the easiest to grow. One flower that is easy to grow and is often associated with the advent of spring are daffodils. Daffodils are among the easiest flowers to grow because they are easy to plant, don’t require a lot of care, and daffodil bulbs are so hardy that they can continue to grow for many years.

Daffodils are native to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but they are now grown all over the world. They are resistant to cold, and will grow pretty much everywhere in the U.S. except areas where there is no cold season because the cold season is necessary to start the bulb growing. Daffodils belong to the Narcissus family, and while I don’t know if they are in love with their own cheerful faces, daffodil blooms always make me smile. They are a symbol of hope, which is appropriate for springtime.

Daffodils must be planted in the fall, after the ground cools but before it freezes. They are sold in bulb form, and there are plenty of varieties to choose from. Some have blooms as large as 5-6 inches, while the miniature daffodils have smaller blooms, from about 1-3 inches. While most people think of yellow blooms when they think of daffodils, they actually come in a wide range of colors. However, my personal favorite is still the happy yellow ones that are the most common.