Daffodils from the Past Derrick Rooney1

Daffodils from the past Derrick Rooney1 Discovering a new plant is one of This is relevant because when the In October, when for the first time, the great thrills for the plantsman Barrosa homestead was built the and for a variety of reasons mostly or plantswoman. But sometimes farm buildings were moved to their associated with the farming timetable, rediscovering an old one is even more present site near the confluence of the we were able to schedule a visit at exciting. Stour and the Ashburton River south daffodil time, their display was simply branch, a journey of about 12 km. stunning. At least it was for me in mid-October This must have been a massive and (2014) in the former homestead Before Barrosa changed hands three difficult undertaking with horses and garden of Barrosa Station near the years ago the previous owner, a drays because at that time there was Stour River in the Ashburton Gorge bachelor, had been living in the huge no bridge over the Ashburton River district of Mid-Canterbury. homestead for about 30 years, during where it bisects the Lake Heron basin. which time his horticultural activities The 25-room homestead was The only trace of the buildings at were apparently largely confined to damaged in the 2010 earthquake and Castleridge today is an open space in mowing the grass, trimming hedges, has been unoccupied for three years the middle of the stand of pine, larch, and occasionally grazing sheep under since the 2000 ha-plus property, which spruce and Sierra redwood trees that the trees to control tree suckers and had completed tenure review, was still do a good job of sheltering the brushweeds. This treatment obviously bought as a going concern and added house from the north-westerly wind. did the old daffodils no harm at all. to the Harmer family’s Castleridge It’s highly likely that the buildings Station in an interesting example of Underneath the trees, which had were not the only items moved to a property completing a full circle. In yet to fully leaf out, there were pools the homestead at the Stour. The the 19th century, when it was known and swathes of Narcissus ‘Van Sion’ old double ‘Van Sion’ (Fig. 1) and as Clent Hills, Barrosa was a huge and N. × incomparabilis, the latter the incomparabilis daffodils (Fig. 2), property that extended from the Stour in a variety of colour combinations, that have been quietly multiplying River valley to the eastern shoreline both double and single. Scattered underneath the oak, birch, elm, and of Lake Heron and took in the western among them were rambling clumps sycamore trees at Barrosa for a flanks of the 2333-metre Mount of Muscari armeniacum (the grape century or so, also made the trip. Taylor. When the Clent Hills run was hyacinth) with large spikes of flowers broken up early in the 20th century, in a breath-taking deep blue. It was the Clent Hills name was retained for impossible to decide whether the the Mt Taylor portion and part of the intensity of the colour was genetic, a Lake Heron basin. The remainder consequence of the soil, the altitude (which included the actual range (about 450 m above sea level), the still known as the Clent Hills) was cooler climate, the perfect amount of renamed Barrosa. Castleridge, which light filtering through the old trees, or includes part of the (actual) Clent Hills a combination of all or any of these and the middle portion of the Lake factors. One thing is certain, however; Heron basin, was later subdivided the daffodils are genuine garden from Barrosa and freeholded. It was heirlooms whose history has been sold to the Harmer family in 1992. Fig. 1 Narcissus ‘Van Sion’, the original traced back to the 17th century. My connection with the property is double yellow heirloom daffodil recorded in Van Sion’s double daffodil was first that my daughter is married to Paul 1629. described in 1629 by a prominent Harmer, and they farm Castleridge apothecary and botanist of the day, jointly with Paul’s parents. Castleridge John Parkinson. now winters about 15,000 Merino ewes, 600 Angus breeding cows, and Parkinson (1567–1650) spent his several hundred deer. early life in Yorkshire, moved to London at the age of 14 to become The site of the original Clent Hills an apprentice apothecary, and rose run’s homestead and farm buildings, through the ranks to the position of including woolshed and shearers’ apothecary to James I, and later quarters, was very close to the botanist to Charles I. The first edition present Castleridge homestead. of his Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Fig. 2 Narcissus × incomparabilis, an historic Terrestris was published in 1629 with daffodil first described in 1768. 1 PO Box 43, Hororata, Canterbury, New Zealand; [email protected] New Zealand Garden Journal, 2014, Vol. 17(2) 11 the explanatory subtitle A Garden of daffodil in England was chronicled by In many plants the corona is orange, all sorts of pleasant flowers which our Parkinson. He added that Parkinson or yellow with an orange rim. Its English ayre will permitt to be noursed was annoyed that Wilmer “would history in cultivation has been traced up.2 needes appropriate it to himselfe, as back to the 17th century, but it may if he were the first founder thereof, well have been cultivated earlier in The story of Narcissus ‘Van Sion’, as and call it by his own name Wilmer’s Europe, where it is thought to have told by Parkinson, is that a Flemish- Double Daffodil, which since hath so originated as a wild plant. born London gardener, Vincent Van continued.” Sion, had a small daffodil that he The first botanical description of this nursed along for many years before Haworth apparently provided a poor narcissus was published by Philip it bloomed. When, at last, a fat bud description of his imaginary Narcissus Miller in the 1768 (8th) edition of his appeared and opened, it proved, to telamonius, which he regarded as Gardeners’ Dictionary4 as Narcissus his delight, to be a double flower. Like the single form of two older double incomparabilis: “Daffodil with one a modern gardener, when his treasure daffodils, but the name has been flower in a sheath, having a very short increased Van Sion shared it with widely used. Bowles wrote: “As there bell-shaped nectarium, and declining.” his friends. He did not name it but to is only Haworth’s word for connecting Miller wrote that he received “roots” of Parkinson, who received some bulbs, it with the intangible Telamonius, it is it from Spain and Portugal. However, it was “Van Sion’s daffodil”. However, better to call it by the garden name it was known to Parkinson more than some of the bulbs had gone to a Van Sion, and to give honour to a century earlier, and featured as the florist3 named Wilmer and, after Van whom, according to Parkinson, honour “incomparable Daffodil” in his Garden Sion’s death, this man introduced the is due.” of Pleasant Flowers (Paradisi in Sole clone under his own name, apparently Numerous synonyms for Van Sion’s Paradisus Terrestris). It is now widely much to the annoyance of Parkinson. daffodil have been used over the accepted that although it has been This name, “Wilmer’s Double Daffodil” centuries, including Narcissus recorded elsewhere in Europe its became widely used in England and ‘Centifolio’, ‘Double Van Sion’, original habitat was the Pyrenees and still is mentioned occasionally. ‘Guernsey Cabbage Daffodil’, neighbouring areas. Double forms Van Sion’s daffodil resembles no wild ‘Wilmer’s Great Double Daffodil’, ‘Van (traditionally known as “Butter and species known at the time. A later Sion’, ‘Vincent Sion’, ‘Wilmer’s Double Eggs”) are also known. The single botanist, Adrian Haworth (1767– Golden Daffodil’, ‘Wilmer’s Great form is more common, however, 1833), when unable to track down Double Daffodil’, and ‘Wilmot’s Double and to the plants person, probably a parent, invented a single-flowered Daffodil’. more attractive. The perianth is often daffodil and called it Narcissus pale yellow or cream and the corona You would be either very lucky or very telamonius. He dubbed Van Sion’s orange or yellow edged with orange, surprised to find Vincent Van Sion’s daffodil “Narcissus telamonius plena”. but forms with a white perianth and daffodil in the nursery trade today, Although pseudo-scientific names pale yellow corona are also seen. All but a generation or few back it was a such as this are prohibited these days the forms are very hardy. standard component in every cottage this is, curiously, still the official name garden and every estate garden Most of the double forms are yellow of Van Sion’s daffodil. too. Its survival in so many old and selfs, but one which grows at Barrosa The amount of doubling of the corona neglected gardens in the cooler parts and is sometimes seen in other old or in ‘Van Sion’ varies from partial to of New Zealand is a tribute not only to abandoned New Zealand gardens has complete and the perianth varies its quality and longevity but to its lust a pale yellow perianth and a mixture from greenish-yellow to pale yellow or for life. of cream and deep yellow segments cream. The corona is funnel-shaped in the corona. I first saw this 15 years Narcissus × incomparabilis Mill. and smooth. The colour is vivid ago at Lake Heron, surviving with (Narcissus poeticus L. × Narcissus yellow, slightly paler at the base, and other old daffodils (including ‘Van pseudonarcissus L.) is a group of sometimes green at the apex.

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