Estate Collection

'No garden should be without daffodils', Lucy Tolmach Director of Horticulture recently stated when Filoli Gardens became the official ADS display garden at the West Coast. This English style Estate was founded by the Bourns during the Great Daffodil Renaissance, almost 100 years ago. Nowadays the garden, a Property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 1975, functions as a repository for the preservation of historic daffodils next to their extensive collection of modern day and brand new varieties.

This great initiative inspired us to present a special assortment of flower bulbs; The Estate Collection. This landmark assortment includes several ancient and extant Daffodil cultivars; Historic English varieties, next to modern day European, USA and Japan bred flower bulb introductions.

Many of the listed daffodils have been award winners with recommendation from different Garden- and Bulb Societies; KAVB Getuigschrift and Jubilee Award (1860-2010), ADS Wister Award and RHS Award of Garden Merit.

To make our Estate Daffodil selection, we also used the cultivar performance ratings from 2 trials in different US climate zones. These trials evaluated flower bulb performance in the 4th season after planting and were conducted by;

-The North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (1982-1986);
49 Narcissus cultivars were tested and rated from 0 -total bulb loss- to 5 -excellent condition and increasing number of flowers through the years-.

-Cornell University, Flower Bulb Research Program (1999-2003);
42 Narcissus cultivars with more then 50% of the bulbs flowering in the sun plots at all 3 zones/sites after 4 years, were listed as likely to perennialize.

As Hyacinth breeders, next to winning gold medals, we also keep a close eye on the real life performance of our seedlings. The listed Hyacinth cultivars, developed by 2 generations at C.J. Zonneveld, are true winners. Their sturdy stemmed full flower spikes have great longevity and do not tip over in gardenbeds or containers.

For info on the use and performance of 'the little blue bulbs' from the Hyacinthaceae family, we refer to the selection guide from the RHS Plant Trials and Awards experiment; check the link aside.

The Estate Collection, with a wide array of exciting flower bulbs, offers a first lead to information on the background and performance of the cultivars. We hope this will be helpful and inspiring to Directors of Horticulture, Estate Managers, staff, interns, volunteers, and landscape designers for making good decisions concerning the selection, purchase, use and maintenance of flower bulbs for the gardens that surrounds them.

Daffodil Cultivar Info

Filoli Daffodil Table

The North Carolina Agricultural Research Service trials at;

Cornell University, Flower Bulb Research Program

RHS Plant Trials and Rewards