GUY WILSON
At the moment my daffodils are braving the weather, shaking in their shoots and waiting for warmer, sunnier days. The early ones are in bloom, holding their own against repeated onslaughts of cold rain. Even in miserable weather, daffodils are a cheerful sight. I have many in my garden and every year I vow to plant more of them. My neighbors have a daffodil display that is the envy of the entire town and I live in the hope of someday approaching its splendor. In the meantime, I note that I should divide some of my larger clumps as they are producing fewer flowers. Multiplying by dividing is, of course, the best way to get more daffodils for nothing. In a week or two, when the freezing drizzle has stopped, I will get out my spade and tackle the job.
White daffodils are among my favorites, especially the fragrant ‘Thalia’ and the little American-bred ‘Petrel’, with several flowers on each stem. This year I have a new double white, the fragrant ‘Rose of May’, bred by Irish breeder Guy Wilson (1885-1962), one of the twentieth century’s best daffodil breeders and a particular lover of white varieties.
White was born in Broughshane, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. I don’t know how large the village was at the time of his birth in 1885, but a decade ago it was home to around 2300 souls. As a young man, Wilson went to work in his family’s tweed mill, but apparently was given a year off to try and establish a daffodil business. One source suggests that this “year off” was an attempt by Wilson’s father to get daffodils out of his son’s system. Daffodils stayed in his system and the year off launched him on his life’s work. His first crop of seedlings bloomed in 1912 when he was twenty-seven. One of his first successes was ‘White Dame’, registered sometime before 1922. It was one of the first in a line of seventy-eight white-flowered varieties. ‘White Dame’ is a large-flowered daffodil, with a perianth made up of overlapping oval-shaped white petals and a wide-mouthed cup. It is hard to find today, superseded by more recent white varieties, some of which were also bred by Wilson.
Wilson used many daffodils in breeding his white-flowered varieties, but one of his preferred parent varieties was ‘Beersheba’, a favorite of mine that is still available. Bred by and English cleric, Rev. G.H. Engleheart, and introduced in 1923, ‘Beersheba’ is a particularly elegant plant, distinguished for its ivory color and its elongated trumpet. It is not as big and flashy as some of the more recent whites, but it has a singular look. I wish I had at least one hundred more ‘Beersheba’ plants and will eventually acquire them by purchase and judicious division.
Wilson’s favorite white was ‘Empress of Ireland’, which was introduced in 1950–late in his career–and can sometimes be found in commerce today. Possibly named for a fabled passenger liner that sank tragically in 1914, ‘Empress of Ireland’ is also creamy white, with the trumpet just a bit darker than the perianth. ‘Empress’ has won many awards, including the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, which signifies a particularly exemplary garden plant.
My newest Wilson daffodil, ‘Rose of May’ is described by Scott Kunst of Old House Gardens as a “double pheasant eye” variety. Clearly the breeding process transformed the pheasant’s eye into a small rose with abundant white petals. It was introduced in 1950. Planted en masse, ‘Rose of May’ will perfume a corner of the garden handsomely. It is a late bloomer, as daffodils go. If the New Jersey weather continues as it has been this spring, I expect I’ll see it by July.
While not quite pure white, Wilson’s ‘Broughshane’, named after his hometown, is another beauty. Its perianth is white, with a yellowy-cream, heavily ruffled trumpet. Daffodil foliage is generally rather uninteresting, but ‘Broughshane’s has a hint of blue, making it attractive. In my garden, it is another late bloomer.
Photos of Guy Wilson show a smiling middle-aged man in traditional plus fours, tweed jacket and waistcoat. According to a 1991 “Remembrance” in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Journal The Garden, Wilson was a lifelong bachelor, faithful to his twin passions–daffodils and the Presbyterian church. Daffodil lovers have been celebrating that devotion for decades.
You can find Wilson’s ‘Broughshane’ and ‘Rose of May’, as well as ‘Beersheba’ at Old House Gardens, 536 Third Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48103; (734) 995-1486; www.oldhousegardens.com.