Daffodil Season

 Always avoid the overuse of parentheses (brackets), ampersands & abbreviations, etc

The Daffodil Season covers the months of February and March in the United Kingdom. You may find some early flowers in January and there will be some stragglers in April. But, by and large, they will be at their best in February and March. These early specimens (Photo 1) were seen on a visit to The Weir Garden on the first day of February this year, ostensibly to view the snowdrops.

Photo 1: Daffodils, Weir Garden (1st February 2026)

Most of the daffodils were still tightly budded but a few had been encouraged to open, helped no doubt by their location on a south-facing slope.

In the garden, the first daffodils to open were about a week later: e.g. this single specimen under the medlar tree had been open a few days before being photographed on the 12th February.

Photo 2: First Garden Daffodil (12th February 2026)

Daffodils feature strongly in Mary's Spring Table Collection just outside the back door. In addition to the  standard (full-size) cultivars, there are also some Narcissus Tête-a-tête along with the cream-coloured Narcissus bulbocodium (Arctic Bells).

Photo 3: Mary's Spring Flower Table (28th February 2026)

By mid-March, the daffodils are everywhere but especially along roadside verges (Photo 4); note photo taken through the front windscreen of a moving car so the quality is not great.

Photo 4: Roadside Daffodil Displays (March 2026)

On the 14th March, we were at a bit of a loose end and decided to return to The Weir Garden to see how the daffodils were getting on. As we turned into the car park it was clear that we had arrived at an opportune time ...

Photo 4: Car Park, The Weir Garden, Herefordshire (14th March 2026)

The Weir Garden is a riverside garden that looks its best in Springtime when the bulbs are in flower. Over this period you will see a succession of Spring-flowering bulbs (such as snowdrops, daffodils, scilla, crocuses, bluebells, wild garlic) and flowers (e.g. primroses, celandines, wood anemone, summer snowflakes and fritillaries).

Photo 5: Daffodils at The Weir Garden (14th March 2026)

Photo 6: Summer Snowflakes ((Leucojum aestivum), Daffodils, Primroses (Weir Garden, 14/3/26)

Photo 7: Celandines, early Bluebells and Wood Anemones (Weir Garden, 14/3/26)

Photo 8: Snakeshead Fritillaries among the Daffodils (Weir Garden, 14/3/26)

Encouraged by the appearance of daffodils in full bloom, we decided to venture onto Gloucestershire to see the wild daffodils. So, a few days later, we headed for Betty Dawes Wood; formerly a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve but now managed by the Forestry Commission. There are only six car parking spaces (four with bad parking!) at the entrance to the wood and, as you enter by the gate, it doesn't look that promising. However, turn left onto a broad path and in the distance you will see the way to the 'promised land of daffodils'...

Photo 9: This Way to the Wild Daffodils, Betty Dawes Wood (17/3/26)

Photo 10: Wild Daffodils, Betty Dawes Wood (17th March 2026)

Wild daffodils as far as the eye can see ...

Photo 11: Wild Daffodils, Betty Dawes Wood (17th March 2026)

The wild daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus), also known as the 'Lent Lily', is the smaller native daffodil with pale yellow petals and a darker, narrower yellow trumpet (Photo 12) ...

Photo 12: The Wild Daffodil, Betty Dawes Wood (17/3/26)

About halfway around the perimeter of Betty Dawes Wood, there is a bench looking out over a pasture. Go through the gate and cross the field keeping close to the hedge until you come to a gated wooden bridge over a small stream. Follow the path (often muddy) through Greenaways Wood until you come to the road. Here you will find Gwen & Vera's Fields, full of wild daffodils at this time of the year.

Photo 13: Gwen's (or is it Vera's) Field (17/3/26)

Photo 14: Vera's (or is it Gwen's) Field (17/3/26)

Time to retrace our steps back to the car for a picnic before heading home. On the way back through Greenaways Wood we spotted a Brimstone Butterfly ...

Photo 15: Brimstone Butterfly, Greenaways Wood (17/3/26)

We had already seen a couple of Brimstones flying along the roadside verges on our way to Betty Dawes Wood but this was the first close-up.

On our last visit to Betty Dawes, we had seen lots of wood anemones and violets. However, these were largely absent on this trip apart from the odd scraggy sighting ...

Photo 16: Wood Anemone, Betty Dawes Wood (17/3/26)

Was this down to the wet winter?

Photo 17: Dog Violet, Betty Dawes Wood (17/3/26)

Just under a week later, we found ourselves at another loose end; I suspect it happens quite a lot when you  are retired! It was an OK day (dry, at least) and we had two goals in mind. Firstly, a visit to a nearby nature reserve in Hereford that we'd never visited before: Hampton Park Road Meadow. It is small field, accessed between a small housing development, containing the remains of an old orchard along with some more recent orchard planting. The reserve slopes down to the River Wye.

Mary did a quick plant survey of flowering plants that included this patch of wild daffodils ...

Photo 18: Wild Daffodils, Hampton Park Road Meadow (23/3/26)

We made a slight detour on the way home to visit the Lugg Meadow on the eastern outskirts of Hereford looking for snakeshead fritillaries. We'd seen them at The Weir Garden (Photo 8) and they are much more abundant on the Lugg Meadows. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the fritillaries although it is a little early for this particular flood plain site. The ground was indeed still very wet and we couldn't identify any obvious plants that would flower later. The blackthorn had a good display of creamy white flowers with the promise of plenty of sloes for that favourite winter tipple ...

Photo 19: Blackthorn In Bloom, Lugg Meadow (23/3/26)

From a nature point of view, the presence of plenty of birdsong emanating from the blackthorn bushes was a final comforting note.