The first narcissus have flowered in the increasing warmth. The very first bloom stalk arrived before the Roman hyacinths went over. These flowers came from the early N. tazetta “Minor Monarque”.
It’s a small, cluster-flowered narcissus, intensely scented. It is winter- or very early spring-blooming. The bloom stalks have been loaded with individual flowers, which have opened nicely over time, giving each stalk a fairly long period in bloom.
Minor Monarque is early in every sense of the word. Said to regularly be the first to flower in the garden, it is also an antique variety, dating back to at least 1809. It has long been a pass-along bulb in the southern US because of its ability to bloom without much winter chill.
Without delving too deeply into its heritage, I see it listed as N x italicus on the Old House Gardens site (from which I purchased it). The Pacific Bulb Society describes N tazetta italicus as a hybrid between N tazetta and N papyraceus, the paperwhite daffodil. Clearly it’s another excellent Mediterranean bulb for this climate.
For what it’s worth, I am of the type that finds paperwhites a little too much for the nose indoors, but I love them, scent and all, in the garden. Whatever its background, this variety is a delight. Its delicate, star-shaped perianth is rather unique among all the softer, more rounded narcissus blooms. The effect of the pointed petals is so strong that it is also known as “Stars”.
I will look forward to a star-studded spring garden as they multiply.
It's very pretty, Amy. What's the flowering shrub shown in your header?