Old House Gardens Heirloom Flower Bulbs

Gone Forever or Back Soon?

From America’s Expert Source for Heirloom Flower Bulbs

My Basket

Heirloom Daffodils We Hope to Offer Again

Though preservation is our mission, bulbs drop out of our catalog every year.
Sometimes it’s because the harvest was too small. Sometimes it’s because they’re widely available elsewhere and don’t need our help. And sometimes it’s because we’ve lost our only known source due to severe weather (cold, drought, etc.), health problems (a debilitating stroke), or economic woes (small farmers are always at risk).
The good news is that, in time, we’re often able to return these bulbs to our catalog. So here’s a list of many we’ve offered in the past. For an alert the moment they’re available again, subscribe to our free email newsletter. Or to find a similar bulb, try our easy Advanced Bulb Search.

Other heirloom bulbs we hope to offer again someday:

Tulips Lilies, Hyacinths, Crocus, Etc. Spring-Planted Bulbs (Dahlias, Etc.)

ACTAEA, 1927

The 20th century’s most popular pheasant’s-eye, ‘Actaea’ has big, round, sparkling white petals and a small, yellow eye edged with orange-red. Late, fragrant, and dependable, it has won every major bulb award. 9W-YYR, 16-20”, zones 3-7S/9W.

#DA54

Currently Unavailable

ADMIRATION, 1912 RAREST

With an amber-orange cup ringed by golden-white petals like “the soft taffeta silk which in the old days was known as sarsenet” (Wayside Gardens, 1936), this elegant poetaz is now one of the oldest of that hardy, cluster-flowered clan. And its fragrance is delicious! 8Y-O, 14-16 inches, zones 6-8aS/10W, from Holland. Last offered in 2006. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again soon.

#DA93

Currently Unavailable

ARGENT, 1902 RAREST

Is this “the very best of all double daffodils”? Yes, according to the great E.A. Bowles! In 1914 he gushed about its “particularly graceful outline” and the “charming mingling of its silver and gold.” With long white petals thrusting out of a flurry of short, bright, yellow ones, ‘Argent’ is bursting with spring’s exuberance. From a cross of ‘Ornatus’ and super-vigorous ‘Van Sion’. 4W-Y, 14-16”, zones 4-6S/8W, from Holland. Last offered in 2006. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again soon.

#DA100

Currently Unavailable

BERYL, 1907

In daffodil shows across the country, this graceful little shooting star wins more ribbons for Best Historic Daffodil than any other. Its up-swept petals mature from almost-buff to white, while its dainty golden cup is kissed with orange. In the 1930s, garden diva Louise Beebe Wilder praised it as “neat and charming.” 6W-YYO, 12-14”, z. 5b-8aS/10W, Holland. Last offered in 2006. Widely available elsewhere.

#DA46

Currently Unavailable

CROESUS, 1912 RAREST

With ruffled disks of golden-orange set against smooth, elegantly rounded petals of cream, this classic beauty is named for the fabulously wealthy King Croesus of Lydia who minted the world’s first coins. Plant it and enjoy a wealth of beauty in your garden for years! 2Y-YYO, 17-19”, zones 4-7S/10W, from Holland. Last offered in 2006. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again soon.

#DA89

Currently Unavailable

EMPEROR, 1869 RAREST

Any Top Ten list of history’s greatest daffodils would have to include this legendary trumpet. Once the world’s best-known and best-loved, it’s been “commercially extinct” for decades, preserved by just a handful of collectors — and we’re thrilled to have enough to offer it. With a deep gold trumpet and a distinctive wiggle to its softer yellow petals, it’s a daffodil for the ages. Get it while you can! 1 Y-Y, 18-20”, zones 5-8aS/10W, Holland. Last offered in 2007. We hope to offer it again in 2009.

#DA15

Currently Unavailable

GLORY OF LISSE, 1901 RAREST

This sweetly fragrant pheasant’s eye was praised by A.M. Kirby in the very first American book on daffodils as “superior in size, shape, form, and color.” An “improved ‘Ornatus’,” it has snow-white petals and a citron-yellow eye rimmed with deep red-orange. 800-year-old Lisse in the center of Holland’s bulb district is home to the famous Keukenhof gardens. 9W-YYR, 18-20”, zones 4-7S/9W, from Holland. Last offered in 2005. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again periodically.

#DA104

Currently Unavailable

GOLDEN SCEPTRE, 1914 RAREST

Sublimely fragrant, this tough, free-flowering jonquil “has settled into Southern life,” says Scott Ogden in Garden Bulbs for the South. In 1930, Philadelphia master horticulturist John Wister praised its toughness, saying it “stays in bloom sometimes for two to three weeks in spite of storms or hot weather.” 7Y-Y, 18-20 inches, early/mid-season blooming, zones 6-8bS/10W, from Holland. Last offered in 2006. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again periodically.

#DA96

Currently Unavailable

GRAND MONARQUE, 1798 RAREST

Prized since the days of Napoleon, ‘Grand Monarque’ blooms in clusters of small, sweetly fragrant, white and yellow flowers. It’s “magnificent as grown on the Riviera and in Algiers,” E.A. Bowles reported in the early 1900s, and it’s especially favored today in the Mediterranean climates of the West Coast. 8W-Y, 18-20 inches, zones 7b-9S/11W, from California. Last offered in 2005. We may offer it again, or we could special order it for you.

#DA81

Currently Unavailable

HENRY IRVING, 1885 RAREST

Bring some of the magic of Keukenhof, Holland’s wonderland of bulbs, into your own garden. Every spring in the quaint old parterre garden there, this charming antique trumpet launches the show. And who was Henry Irving? Visit www.theirvingsociety.org.uk to learn more about the Victorian actor who still has a fan club 100 years after his death. 1Y-Y, 15-16 inches, zones 4-8aS/10W, from Holland. Last offered in 2004. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again periodically.

#DA90

Currently Unavailable

LAURENS KOSTER, 1906 RAREST

Our good customer Catherine Yaden of Charleston reports that six of our ‘LK’ produced “over 80 flowers on multiple stems — amazing!” A vigorous, cluster-flowered beauty, it has creamy petals, little golden yellow-orange cups, and a superb fragrance. It’s also one of the oldest poetazes, a group launched in 1890 by crossing N. poeticus and N. tazetta. 8-Y, 16-18”, zones 6-8S/10W, from Holland. Last offered in 2004. Widely available elsewhere.

#DA24

Currently Unavailable

LITTLE GEM, 1938

No bigger than a crocus (that's ‘Paulus Potter’ and Tulipa schrenkii in our photo) and almost as early, this selection from the Pyrenean mountains wild flower N. minor is so small and perfect you may have trouble believing it’s real. Its tiny, bright yellow trumpets fit anywhere — and force eagerly! 1Y-Y, 4-6”, zones 4-7S/9W, from Holland. Last offered in 2004. Widely available elsewhere.

#DA61

Currently Unavailable

MARIONETTE, 1946 WEB ONLY

This pixie, born of the tiny, wild N. asturiensis crossed with N. poeticus, has soft, primrose petals and a bright yellow cup touched with orange. Bred by Alec Gray, the 20th century’s pioneering breeder of miniatures, it’s too large for the show-bench today but utterly charming in the garden. A connoisseurs’ choice, it was already “very scarce” by the 1960s. 2 Y-YYO, 8-10”, zones 5-7, from Holland. Last offered web-only in 2006. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again periodically.

#DA105

Currently Unavailable

ROSY TRUMPET, 1928 WEB ONLY

When introduced in the Roaring Twenties, this small “pink” daffodil was hailed as even better than the sensational ‘Mrs. Backhouse’, and as late as the 1960s, the great American daffodil breeder Grant Mitsch was praising the “amazing depth” and weather-resistance of its “deep rosy apricot.” Though standards have changed since then, with its starry white petals and long, elegant trumpet, ‘Rosy’ endures. 1 W-P, 12-14”, late-mid-season, zones 5-8a, from Holland. Last offered web-only in 2006. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again periodically.

#DA106

Currently Unavailable

SHOT SILK, 1931 RAREST

An improved ‘Thalia’ (is that possible?), this rare, silky-smooth beauty has a creamy white cup and starry petals arching back like ballet dancers. “Most graceful,” wrote McFarland in his 1938 best-seller Garden Bulbs in Color, and “just about perfection.” We think you’ll agree. 5W-W, 14-16”, zones 5-8aS/10W, from Holland. Last offered in 2005. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again periodically.

#DA86

Currently Unavailable

SOUTHERN QUEEN, 1927 RAREST

It’s not just for the South! Bred in the Southern Hemisphere — New Zealand to be exact — by the esteemed Sir Algernon P.W. Thomas, this unusual charmer features ivory white petals and a frilled trumpet of lovely, soft “buff yellow.” 2W-Y, 16-18 inches, zones 5-8aS/10W, from Holland. Last offered in 2005. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again periodically.

#DA92

Currently Unavailable

STELLA, 1869 RAREST & WEB ONLY

With pale yellow petals maturing to almost white and a deep, frilled cup of gold, ‘Stella’ tilts its face upwards to greet the sun. A true pioneer, it’s one of the first fruits of Victorian England’s new-found enthusiasm for hardy daffodils — which eventually swept the globe. 2W-Y, zones 5-8S/10W. Last offered in 2002. We may offer it again. Please check back in the future or sign up for our email newsletter.

#DA70

Currently Unavailable

SWANSDOWN, 1938 RAREST

As lovely as its name, this rare, creamy white double has a distinctive shape. Six single outer petals frame a short central rosette all ruffled and frilled like a tiny carnation. It was bred by one of the 20th-century’s greatest daffodil connoisseurs at Scotland’s romantic Brodie Castle, where you can still see it growing today. 4W-W, 16-18 inches, zones 5-7S/9W, from Holland. Last offered in 2005. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again periodically.

#DA79

Currently Unavailable

VICTORIA, 1897 RAREST & WEB ONLY

Named for the Queen and “especially noted for its vanilla-like perfume,” this cream and gold Victorian trumpet was a favorite for decades in the flower markets of London (Kirby, 1909). Its petals are gracefully waved and its bright trumpet is richly frilled. In the 1920s, one bulb of ‘Victoria’ bloomed with its trumpet split into strips, the beginning of modern split-corona daffodils. 1 W-Y, 18-20 inches, early blooming, zones 5-7 from Holland. Last offered web-only in 2005. Though it’s always in short supply, we hope to offer it again soon.

#DA108

Currently Unavailable

Other heirloom bulbs we hope to offer again someday:

Tulips Lilies, Hyacinths, Crocus, Etc. Spring-Planted Bulbs (Dahlias, Etc.)

Spring-Planted Bulbs

For our print catalog click here or send $2.00 to Old House Gardens 536 Third St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103. phone: 734-995-1486 fax: 734-995-1687 email: charlie@oldhousegardens.com		For our free email newsletter, “The Friends of Old Bulbs Gazette” with tips, news, history, & special offers, send us an email with “subscribe” in the subject line to newsletter@oldhousegardens.com.
© 1993-2009, Old House Gardens. All rights reserved.