Discover daffodils in Wales
Not only is the daffodil and proud emblem for Wales but it’s also an emblem that springtime has arrived. Let’s celebrate the passing of grey skies and welcome this burst of sunshine across Wales.
Not only is the daffodil a proud emblem for Wales but it’s also an emblem that springtime has arrived. Say goodbye to grey skies and wet weather and let’s welcome this bright flower in our gardens and parkland’s across Wales.
There’s no doubt that the daffodil is the most popular spring flower- not for being the first to flower but because it has up to 200 different species and over 25,000 hybrids. Many of these species can be seen at our places across Wales; Dyffryn Garden alone has up to 50 varieties including its own internationally recognised breed of daffodil.
Daffodils are typically found blooming in our gardens and parklands from February through to early May. But this year we’ve spotted a few early blooms; Plas yn Rhiw saw the ‘February Gold’ flowering in early January and Bodnant Garden saw the ‘Cedric Morris’ flowering as early as December.
But the real show-stoppers don’t arrive until March. Colby Woodland Garden are expecting a jaw dropping display from their 6000 daffodils planted in 2011 and 2015. Look out for them in large drifts throughout the meadow and meadow bank. But if you’re looking for an original Erddig has one of the first daffodils to be cultivated, the ‘Pheasant’s Eye’ can be seen in their 18th century restored walled garden.
A National emblem
There are many stories to how the daffodil became an emblem for Wales but it all started with the humble leek when St David advised Welsh warriors during the battle against the Saxons to wear a leek so enemies and allies could be distinguished.
St David is thought to have died on 1 March around AD589, and was later made the patron saint of Wales in the 12th century. Therefore on the 1 March Wales’ celebrates St David’s Day by wearing a leek or a daffodil. The connection between both emblems could lie in the Welsh pronunciation; leek in Welsh is ‘Cenhinen’- while daffodil in Welsh is ‘Cenhinen Pedr’.
Our top 3 daffodil displays
There’s no doubt that you’ll be spotting daffodils at our gardens and parkland across Wales but to make sure that you experience a host of daffodils like no other we’ve selected three of our top displays.
Generation of gardeners have been planting daffodils at Bodnant since 1920 and are continuously improving on the display. The main show is to be seen in March and April when the Old Park meadow and grassy Glades are transformed into a carpet of yellow. Keep your eyes out for their expanding display into Furnace Meadow this year.
Powis’ Baroque terraced gardens are matched only by their superb hill-top setting, from where you can enjoy superb views of the countryside as spring arrives. The famous Welsh daffodil Narcissus Pseudonarcissus thrives in the paddock in front of the castle.
Dyffryn Gardens have more than 50 varieties of daffodils that can be seen everywhere, overflowing pots around the 19th century mansion and lighting up the lawns. But there’s one in particular that deserves a special mention; Narcissus ‘Dyffryn’ or the Dyffryn daffodil- their own internationally recognised breed of daffodil.