There’s more to trumpet daffodils than the stiff, over-sized honkers offered by every chain store. Look to the past and you’ll find a variety of bright, graceful, early-blooming trumpets that have delighted gardeners for centuries. We’ll send you 1 bulb each of 5 of the best: 1 N. pseudonarcissus, Lent lily (by 1200), 1 ‘Maximus’ (a.k.a. ‘Trumpet Major’, 1576), 1 bi-colored ‘Princeps’ (1830), 1 ‘Golden Spur’ (1885), and 1 ‘King Alfred’ (true stock! 1899). For zones 5a-8aS/10WC.
          For 2, 3, or more of each variety, order additional samplers.

It’s not by chance that so many wild tulips are red, or that for centuries red was the most popular color for garden tulips. As every artist knows, red and green are complementary colors so together they look especially vibrant and right. And through some quirk of genetics, red tulips are often more vigorous and enduring than their peers.
           You’ll get 1 bulb each of 5 brilliant, long-lasting, and very rarely offered Single Early tulips: 1 ‘Cramoisi Brillant’ (1785), 1 ‘Vermilion Brilliant’ (1845), 1 ‘Cardinal’s Hat’ (1860), 1 ‘Artus’ (a.k.a. Garibaldi, 1860), and 1 ‘Vuurvlaam’ (1897). For zones 5-7, from the Hortus.
          For 2 or 3 of each variety, order additional samplers.

Herald the new year’s renaissance with this tapestry of purple, white, lavender, gold, and striped crocus. 25 corms – 5 each of 5 of our gems – all individually labeled. Zones 4-7, from Holland.

From the 1600s through the 1800s, the short, colorful, early-blooming Duc van Tols were universally popular. Today, on the other hand, it’s a rare gardener who’s even heard of them let alone grown one. Here’s your chance to try 5 very rarely offered colors of these all-but-lost pixies: 1 ‘Duc Violet’ (1700); 1 ‘Duc Cochineal’ (crimson, 1700); 1 ‘Duc White’ (1805); 1 ‘Duc Yellow’ (1830); 1 ‘Duc Scarlet’ (1850). 6-8 inches, zones 5-7, from the Hortus. (For more, see our favorite ‘Rose’ and the original ‘Red and Yellow’.)

This long-loved Victorian king combines mostly striped petals with mostly purple ones for a look that’s charmingly imperfect, like Grandma’s patchwork quilt. C. vernus, zones 4-7, from Holland. Chart to compare.

Gotta have it! This is the most popular crocus of the past 300 years, a vibrant orange-yellow, like molten sun. C. x luteus, zones 4-7, from Holland. Chart to compare.

“Ruby-purple,” says Roy Genders. “Almost magenta,” says E.A. Bowles. “Splendid!” says Louise Beebe Wilder. This vibrant, vanishing jewel – lost to us for years but now back thanks to one determined Dutch grower – is the rosiest purple of all the traditional crocus. (To add to its pleasures, learn about the painter it’s named for.) Zones 4-7, from Holland. Chart to compare.

A PINK crocus? Not quite, but it’s the closest any crocus gets to pink, a soft lavender-rose that’s utterly unique. Adding to its charms, it opens its petals exuberantly in the sun, making a constellation of tiny pink stars that just gets better every year. C. tommasinianus, zones 5b-8a, from Holland. Chart to compare.