This vibrant Victorian was born in Ireland and named for the Archangel himself. Look with your imagination and you’ll see a reflection of heavenly wings in its long white petals and a hint of what’s to come in its fiery cup. 2 W-YOO, 16-18”, zones 5-7S/9WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

One of the most popular doubles of the 20th-century, ‘Mary’ combines a flurry of creamy white petals with shorter, frilly bits of lemon, orange, and tangerine. She’s livelier and more informal than her daffodil sister ‘Irene’ – though apparently this wasn’t true of the real Mary and Irene. For Mary’s true story, sent to us by her niece in England, click here. 4 W-O, 16-20”, zones 4-7S/9WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

Celebrated in gardens for over 400 years, ‘Maximus’ or ‘Trumpet Major’ is an especially fine form of N. hispanicus with a wild, primeval look. Its trumpet is boldly scalloped and flared, it’s petals make a dramatic star, and it lifts up its face as if worshipping the sun. It’s been treasured by Elizabethan, Victorian, and Arts-and-Crafts gardeners alike – and now it’s your turn! 1 Y-Y, 14-16”, zones 5-8aS/10WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

Often the first tazetta to bloom in the new year, this sturdy pass-along plant has narrow, pointed petals that make its clustered blooms look like fistfuls of stars. As Texas bulb expert Thad Howard wrote, it’s “enduring, sweet-scented” and “deserves more respect and popularity.” 8W-Y, 20”, zones 8-9S/10WC, from Alabama. Chart to compare.

Swans-Neck, Goose-Neck, Silver Bells — if you’re looking for that elusive Southern heirloom, this form of N. moschatus may not be 100% identical but probably even your granny couldn’t tell them apart. It’s short and sweet, with creamy white blooms that nod demurely, the epitome of spring. Aka N. cernuus, 13 W-W, 10-12”, zones 5-8aS/10WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

Known for decades as THE pink daffodil, ‘Mrs. R.O. Backhouse’ is one of the landmark bulbs of the now-vanished 20th century. She’s more truly ivory and apricot, but so beautiful – a veritable sunrise for those who watch closely – that most modern pinks can’t hold a candle to her. For her enduring beauty, vigor, and place in history, we named her our Fall 2005 Heirloom Bulb of the Year. 2 W-P, 16-18”, zones 4-8aS/10WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

Named for the wife of one of Holland’s greatest bulb-growers — so you know it has to be good — ‘Mrs. Ernst H. Krelage’ was once sold for a whopping $162 per bulb. Lost to American gardeners for years until we reintroduced it in 2011, it’s a sturdy, buxom flower of creamy white and palest lemon. 1 W-W, 18-20”, zones 4-8aS/10WC, Holland. Chart to compare.

Named for Lily Langtry, the spirited actress whose affair with King-to-be Edward VII titillated Victorian England, this rare beauty has milk-white petals and a crinkled canary cup that matures to cream. Guy Wilson, famed breeder of new daffodils, wrote in 1929, “I hope we shall not lose altogether some of the older flowers of such undeniable beauty and grace as ‘Mrs. Langtry’.” 2 W-WWY, 18-20”, zones 5-7bS/9WC, from Holland’s greatest daffodil collector. Chart to compare.

This extra-rare, white-on-white beauty completes the Copeland Family Double-Daffodil Trifecta. Mrs. Copeland was the mother of the lovely Irene and Mary Copeland, and the wife of the greatest breeder of double daffodils the world has ever known. (Read the family’s story here.) We imported a few bulbs of ‘Mrs. Copeland’ from Australia many years ago, and ever since then we’ve been looking forward to this beautiful mother and child reunion. 4 W-W, early-mid season, 18-20”, zones 4-7S/9WC, from Holland. Chart to compare. Last offered web-only in 2012. Although we hope to offer this rarity again in 2013, availability can’t be confirmed until June. Please check back then or subscribe to our email newsletter.

This refined, up-town cousin of everybody’s favorite ‘Thalia’ sets the hearts of daffodil connoisseurs aflutter. It’s sublimely graceful, with smoother, thicker, more shapely petals of a white that expert Michael Jefferson-Brown calls “dazzling in its purity.” 5 W-W, 18-20”, zones 5-8aS/10WC, from Pennsylvania. Chart to compare.