2 
BARR’S HARDY DAFFODILS, AND WHAT THE PRESS SAYS OF THEM. 
BA R R’S 
HARDY DAFFODILS, DAFFADILLIES, DAFFODOWNDILLIES. 
To these was Awarded the only Gold Medal of the Daffodil Conference, held In the Chiswick 
Gardens of the Koyal Horticultural Society, April 16th, 1890. 
NEWSPAPER NOTICES, 1394. 
“ About ten minutes’ walk from Surbiton Station, keeping the path along the line, and passing beneath it to the 
left, the lover of Daffodils — and who is not? — may feast his eyes on a glorious expanse of dancing blooms, not 
growing wild, but in the Nursery Grounds of Messrs. Barr, of Long Ditton. The variety is probably nowhere 
rivalled, and will astonish the uninitiated. There are star-shaped and trumpet-shaped flowers, yellow, cream, and 
white, serrated, and with twisted perianth, Cyclamen shaped, and with straight crowns ; flowers with trumpets two 
inches wide, and diminutive blooms growing in a cluster on a single stem ; trumpet blooms of primrose hue, and 
others with orange-scarlet cups and lemon perianth, though, to our mind, the simple Narcissus or the poets is till 
the loveliest of them all.”— Echo, April 9th, 1894. 
“Hidden away in the labyrinth of lanes just behind Long Ditton, on the Portsmouth road, are the grounds of 
Messrs. Barr and Son, famous for the cultivation of Tulips and other bulbs, but more particularly of Daffodils, which 
are just now justifying their old poetical reputation for stealing a march upon the swallow by bursting forth into 
sheets of gold. Mr. llarr is, we learn, away at this time in Spain, pursuing his. search for new varieties of this 
beautiful flower, which has already been crowned by so many notable successes ; his son, however, is at hand to show 
us what is worth noting. The Long Ditton grounds extend to fifteen acres, of which five or six are devoted to 
Daffodil culture ; yet from this patch of laud, it is found practicable to raise every year millions of bulbs 
To the uninstructed eye a Daffodil is simply a Daffodil, but our horticulturists now reckon no fewer than 
five hundred varieties. Many sorts proclaim their recent accession by such modern names as Henry Irving 
and Mary Anderson. Some that are found growing wild in various parts of the United Kingdom are supposed 
to have been brought here from abroad by the monks in old days. That unique little variety the Narcissus Oycla- 
mineu6, with its petals turned backwards, was at one time suspected of being a mere dream. My companion, 
however, is able to pluck me a specimen. It loves the river's brim— in other words, delights in moist meadows. It 
was in ‘ Bohemia ' that the Daffodils of Autolycus ‘ began to peer,’ and Perdita, at the joyous sight, gave utterance to 
immortal lines. Our guide plucks us a specimen of Sir Watkin. Its home is the Welsh valleys, but it is more than 
probable that the eyes of Owen Glendower never looked upon the like, for it is supposed to be what is called an 
* escaped hybrid.' In strong contrast is the Gloria Mundi, with its perianth of delicate sulphur and its cup of red 
orange. Another flower, the Narcissus maximus, which our conductor nips off for us at the base of the stem, claims 
attention as a variety described in the oldest of our botany manuals. It is of a rich deep yellow. Here represented 
are the General Murray, small and delicate, the old double garden variety, which has a sort of rose-faced fulness 
and the other double Daffodils, popularly known as Butter and Eggs, Codlins and Cream, and Eggs and Bacon, 
also the Rush Leaved. About Tenby, in Pembrokeshire, is found in wild luxuriance the Narcissus Obvallaris, 
Then comes the pretty little sulphur-hued Hoop Petticoat Daffodil, which was discovered by Mr. Barr; the Angels' 
Tears, with their little triple flowers and gracefully reflexed petals, found by the same persevering explorer. Seeing 
that all plants have their preferences of climate and soil, it may seem strange that so many can be successfully reared 
within so limited a space. But this, in our spring gardening, is rarely difficult with a little aid from the fostering 
hand of the skilled horticulturist. The system is to plant in September or October, and leave them alone for two or 
three years. After this, if they are flourishing they will go on for an indefinite period. On a sloping, sheltered edge, 
they will last, says my companion, ‘ for ever.' Loam or any sort of garden border soil suits them ; but the cultivator 
must bear in mind that the Daff odil, as my guide puts it, ‘ hates manure.' Delicate and juicy though it seems, there 
is, moreover, little need to fear frosts. On frosty nights the stems have a curious power of lying down ; still stranger 
is their rather startling habit of suddenly springing up again in two or three bounds with the rise of temperature in 
the morning. As we are standing to take our leave at the garden gate, it is gratifying to our patriotic feelings to 
learn that the English growers have no fear of foreign rivals.’ — Daily News, April llth, 1894. 
“ Fashions in flowers change with the times, and there is no better instance of this than the attention now 
devoted to the cultivation of the once despised Daffodil, which is now to be seen in some five hundred varieties, the 
earliest blooming in February and the latest at the end of May. Messrs. Barr and Son, of Covent Garden, are chiefly 
responsible for the present popularity of these flowers, their constant exhibits at Spring Shows having had effect ; 
while to them is also due in great measure the starting of the Daffodil industry in the Scilly Isles, which has resulted 
so well for the inhabitants. The annual show at the Nurseries at Long Ditton this year is a very good one, and 
distinctly superior to that of last season, when the quality of the blooms was greatly affected by the dry weather. 
Some of the rarer sorts are very curious, the Angels’ Tears, the Hoop Petticoat, the Cyclamen-flowered, the bold 
Emperor and Empress, the richly coloured Gloria Mundi and Glory of Leiden, and the fine Weardale.” 
World, Apnl llth, 1894. 
“It must be a very insensate visitor to these Nurseries who can gaze on the masses of delicate colour, and the 
innumerable beauties of form presented by the great beds of Daffodils now in bloom, and not feel with Wordsworth : 
‘ My heart with pleasure fills, 
And dances with the Daffodils ’ 
The country visitor may wonder, and feel a pang of jealousy, on seeing the perfection to which Messrs. Barr have 
brought the culture of the Narcissus family, but to fully enjoy the sight it needs, perhaps, to go down from town, so 
hot, and dusty, and barren, in spite of the tender green of budding trees in parks and squares. Refreshment of 
spirit is found in contemplating fora brief April afternoon the 
* Daffodil, 
And the green world they live in.’ 
One of my greatest favourites is Mrs. Langtry. The perianth is creamy white, and so is the trumpet, hut for a 
fringed edge just touched with golden yellow. Beatrice is a pretty member of the Leedsii seotion ; with its 
widespread perianth, and short, well-opeued cup. Newer than either of these is P. R. Barr, with a pale-coloured 
perianth and longer trumpet, deep gold throughout. Emperor seems to lead the van with its fine bold form and 
large size. It has now a rival, but so new, and so scarce, that Emperor will not suffer for seme years to come. This 
rival made its dtbut at the Royal Horticultural Society's Show on April 10th; it is christened Weardale Perfection, 
and has leaves measuring 1 inch across, while the diameter of the flower is 6 inches. To fly from one extreme to 
another is to mention, after Weardale Perfection, a quaint, pale Narcissus, Angels’ Tears, and a wee Jonquil, 
brilliant in colour and sweet-scented, bearing a dainty single flower barely a quarter of an inch across. Tulips are 
well worth a visit. There is a superb yellow one, Ophir d'Or ; Koh-i-noor has satiny petals of deep crimson with a 
purple sheen ; hut the most wonderful of all is White Von Vondel, a Tulip not only remarkable in size (its petals 
are six to eight inches across), but of the purest white that has yet been obtained in this flower.” 
Queen, April 21st, 1894. 
“ Until a week ago the Daffodil, that most joyous of spring flowers, appealed to me for its beauty, rather than its 
scent, and never did I realize until sauntering through the Surbiton Nurseries of Messrs. Ban’ and Son, of 12 King 
Street, Co vent Garden, the sweetness of perfume of the growing Daffodils. Here they are to be seen in their 
thousands, the gardens being literally one sheet of yellow hJoom, save for thick masses of crimson that here and 
there break up the harmony of gold, and prove upon proximity to be Tulips decked in their richest frocks. At their 
Long Ditton home the Daffodils are seen in the full glory of perfection. There are in all five hundred varieties, the 
Nurseries covering no less than fifteen acres.”— Gentlewoman, April 21st, 1894. 
[Barr and Son , 
