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A Patient Craftsman Creating Exceptional Landscapes

Author: John Holden

Double Flowering Daffodil – Narcissus Van Sion
I’ve admired a daffodil growing along the road for years.

It’s a double, or more, flower with tattered-looking petals that resemble the feathers on a Polish Chicken’s head.

Van Sion Daffodil is Very Hardy

These photos were taken near a cemetery dating back to 1757.

The Van Sion daffodils grow in grass, weeds and sumac.

By mid-summer, the foliage will be mowed for road maintenance.

Van Sion Daffodil Flowers

Van Sion Daffodil flowers can vary significantly depending on the weather or other conditions.

First-year Van Sion Daffodil blooms can look like more traditional double-flowering daffodils.

Yet, the daffodil’s authentic ‘wildness’ emerges after the first year, forming a loose flower with many petals.

This is what I’m used to seeing in my neighborhood.

Van Sion Daffodil is a Slow Grower

Van Sion Daffodil is an extremely slow grower.

I discovered this volunteer growing in a patch of pachysandra and transplanted it to a more hospitable spot.

When I transplanted the volunteer, it had a flower, but three years later, it has only two flowers.

Van Sion Daffodil History and Nomenclature

Van Sion Daffodil has been in literature since the 1600s.

Van Sion Daffodil (Narcissus ‘Van Sion’)is also called Telamonius Plenus Daffodil (Narcissus ‘Telamonius Plenus’).

For More Information about Van Sion Daffodil

To learn more about Van Sion Daffodil, also known as Narcissus ‘Telamonius Plenus’, select a link below:
- Telamonius Plenus – DaffSeek – Daffodil Database with Photos
- A Confusing, 400-Year-Old Classic – Old House Gardens
- Narcissus ‘Telamonius Plenus’ – Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants
- Narcissus ‘Telamonius Plenus’ – the resilient daffodil – The Royal Horticultural Society
- Golden Oldies! – Paddy Tobin, An Irish Gardener
April 14, 2025
Exploring Daffodils: Nature’s Resilient Spring Bloomer

I visited the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, Connecticut, yesterday.

There’s a saying that goes, “The more we know, the more we realize we don’t know.”

Yesterday, I learned a bunch from the Master Gardeners at the Bartlett.

Daffodils are Tough-As-Nails

While waiting for the seminar to start, I noticed a planting of yellow Daffodils.

The temperature was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, with a 15 to 20-mile-an-hour wind.

The Daffodils didn’t blink at the cold, windy weather.

In fact, their glow made me feel a little warmer.

Daffodils take tough-as-nails to new levels.

“Daffodils” by William Wordsworth

A memorial plaque in the garden has a snippet from “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth, written in 1804.

The verse the snippet is from reads:

For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.
William Wordsworth

April 10, 2025
Top Early Spring Flowers for Your Garden

It’s been crazy weather here in Connecticut.

Yesterday, I woke to drizzle and temperatures around thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit. By the afternoon, it was sunny and around sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

We had a long, cold and blustery winter; overall, there was little snow.

Despite the cold and varying weather, plants are starting to grow.

I don’t know how.

Lenten Rose – Helleboris sp.

One of my favorite early spring bloomers is Lenten Rose (Helleboris sp.).

I cut back the foliage last fall, and the plant is performing wonderfully.

Some years, I don’t cut the foliage back until spring.

There’s no correct answer.

Oriental Poppies – Papaver orientale

While poppy flowers are delicate, poppy plants are tough as nails.

These poppies are emerging with some nights below freezing and cold, damp, windy weather.

Oriental Poppies (Papaver orientale) thrive in inhospitable environments and love hot, dry soils in cold climates.

Oriental Poppies prefer full sun to partial shade and won’t tolerate damp soils (over-irrigated) or organic soils (over-mulched).

Catmint – Nepeta sp.

Over five years ago, I planted one of the catmint cultivars, most likely Walkers Low (Nepeta x faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’).

Ever since, I’ve watched catmint spring up everywhere in my yard. When I say everywhere, I mean all over the place.

The catmint has reverted to the species, and if I don’t cut it back, it will grow about three feet wide and two feet tall.

It’s a stout grower.

I like the look of catmint spread through the gardens.

Catmint prefers dry, inorganic soil and full sun to partial shade. It will also do well in average garden soil.

Damp soils (over-irrigated) and organic soils (over-mulched) discourage Catmint.

I never see catmint thriving where its boggy or damp.

Cornell Pink Rhododendron – Rhododendron mucronulatum ‘Cornell Pink’

The buds are swelling on my Cornell Pink Rhododendrons.

This grouping was planted about five years ago.

Cornell Pink Rhododendron should be placed where it can shine for two to three weeks in the spring and blend in the rest of the year.

Cornell Pink Rhododendron is covered with pink blooms from early to mid-April.

Even though Cornell Pink Rhododendron will never be as compact as a PJM or Olga Rhododendron, you can prune it immediately after bloom to keep it more compact.

This Cornell Pink Rhododendron hasn’t been pruned in years.

Daffodils – Narcissus sp.

My daffodils are about three inches tall.

Daffodils bloom earlier if planted near asphalt, beside a house, or amongst boulders.

The Daffodils in my yard are older cultivars that aren’t as showy as the newer cultivars.

Daffodils are tough as nails and grow almost anywhere except in wet soils and deep shade.

Darwin Hydrid Tulip – Tulipa ‘Apeldoorn’

Last year, I planted Darwin Hybrid Tulips in a raised bed, hoping to use them as cut flowers.

You’ll notice Catmint growing among the tulips.

Catmint plants sometimes attract cats who enjoy sleeping in and rubbing against them.

Please let me know your favorite early spring plants in the comments below.

April 3, 2025
Winter to Spring: Arnold’s Promise Blooms Brightly

After weeks of below-freezing temperatures, my backyard is lit up like Christmas, seemingly out of nowhere.

Why? My Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold’s Promise’) is blooming.

We’ve had a brutal winter: several weeks below freezing, high winds, and an ice storm.

Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel pulls me out of the winter doldrums yearly.

I took the pictures below on March 18, 2025, in USDA Hardiness Zone 6. My Snow Crocus are just coming into bloom, and the Daffodils are a week or two away from bloom.

You have to see the Witch Hazel flowers up close to appreciate them.

Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel blooms at a time when few other plants are in bloom.

Other plants that bloom in late winter include Snowdrops, Snow Crocus and Lenten Rose.

Furthermore, Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel is an understory tree. It prefers to grow in partial shade. The tree will tolerate drought once established.

Also, Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel grows as a single-stem tree or multi-stemmed shrub, reaching about 25 feet.

Because it is such a unique tree, Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel often sells out early in the season.

In conclusion, if you like the look of Arnold’s Promise Witch Hazel, I suggest you get to the garden center early.

March 20, 2025
Stunning Indian Pink in Shade Garden: A Must-See at Bartlett Arboretum

I visited the Bartlett Arboretum yesterday and was stunned by the Indian Pinks in the native plant shade garden.

This was my first time seeing Spigelia marilandica, also called Pinkroot, and it was a show-stopper.

Indian pink blooms in June.

Indian Pink grows in part to full shade and average to moist soil. I took this picture in deep, dappled shade where the Pinkroot thrives.

How nice to find a plant that thrives in deep shade, is easy to care for, and provides such a nice show.

Pinkroot has a clump-forming habit and spreads by rhizomes.

A view looking down at the leaves of the indian pinks.

Indian pinks bloom from the bottom to the top of the stem and may re-bloom if deadheaded.

The tag at the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, CT. Indian Pinks are native to the Southeastern U.S. and grow in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9.

I will be adding Indian pinks to my garden soon.

June 14, 2024
Jeliff Mill New Canaan CT

I stumbled upon Jeliff Mill in New Canaan, CT, while driving to the Bartlett Arboretum last week.

Moving in closer, focusing on the waterfall.

A side view of the waterfall. Water typically comes over the top of water wheels and falls on the far side.

Water landing at the waterfall’s base, note the ripples as water goes over the falls.

This building is somebody’s home designed to look like a mill house. We’ll let it slide that the water wheel is out of scale.

Very nice!

Because the architect made the building fit the surroundings and the development’s theme; I thought Jeliff Mill was an old mill.

For more information, read this article about the Jeliff Mill Historic District. The old building was removed to make way for the housing development.

A fun picture with yours truly.

Next time you’re in New Canaan, CT, enjoy the view of Jeliff Mill. Please note that the mill and waterfall are private property.

May 24, 2024
Butterbur – Petasites japonicus

Yesterday, I removed a plant from a client’s garden because of concerns over how fast it was spreading. Last year, the plant was about a quarter of its size.

Butterbur spreads from a thick, fleshy root 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter. New shoots start about every three feet along the root.

I put all the roots and plants on top of a pile of debris in the woods. If I see the remains starting to grow, I’ll cover it with a tarp to ensure its demise.

I’ve seen Petasites japonicus in a wet, boggy area where it took over.

Thankfully, I’ve never planted it.

Full disclosure: I originally posted this with the title unknown plant. However, thanks to knowledgeable gardeners in the comments below, I learned the plant is called butterbur (Petasites japonicus).

May 21, 2024
First Shade Day 2024

Last Friday, May 10, 2024, I looked out the window and saw well-defined shade on the lawn.

Every spring, there’s a moment when Mother Nature provides the gift of shade.

The first time I noticed, I was driving home from high school. At the bottom of a hill, shade poured across the road on a sunny spring day.

I couldn’t figure out how the leaves on the trees unfurled so quickly.

It seemed impossible.

I am trying a practice called ‘No Mow May‘ this year; hence, my lawn looks like a meadow.

Thank goodness for summer shade.

May 15, 2024
Sugar Maple Seedlings – Mast Year

Last fall, we had a bumper crop of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) seeds, leading to a bumper crop of sugar maple seedlings.

I’ve never seen so many sugar maple seedlings in the garden.

Why Are there so many Maple Seedlings in My Yard?

Sugar maples have what are known as ‘Mast Years,’ when they produce a bumper crop of seeds that overwhelm animals that eat the seeds, such as mice and birds. Oak trees also have mast years.

The maple trees literally overwhelm the opposition’s defenses, much like when the troops landed in Normandy.

Here’s a close-up of sugar maple seedlings growing in my gravel drive. The photo covers less than one square foot.

Sugar maple trees flank my home, providing shade from morning and afternoon sun. During the summer, the house rarely sees direct sunlight.

The sugar maple trees are very tall, and there are plenty of them to set seed.

Sugar maple flowers in full bloom in mid-April.

If you’re looking for sugar maple (Acer saccharum) seedlings, I know a guy with a few to spare!

May 13, 2024