UK gardeners are being urged to help track down three varieties of daffodils (Image: Getty)
With just around the corner and warmer weather hopefully in sight a daffodil hunt has been launched.
are being urged to help track down three varieties of daffodils across the UK that could be lying in plain sight.
The three types to keep an eye out for are pink, white, and the vibrant ‘bonfire’ yellow varieties, associated with bonfire nights in Sussex.
Although yellow is the most common daffodil colour, these cheerful bulbs do come in different shades such as white, cream and orange.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is launching a ‘daffodil diaries’ project in commemoration of 100 years since the charity helped save the flower.
These cheerful bulbs come in a variety of different shades (Image: Getty)
RHS fear the three shades of daffodils could be extinct, it is hoped the daffodil hunt will help better understand the UK’s gardening heritage and aid their survival.
“Rare varieties could be lost if they’re not found and cared for”, said Gwen Hines of the plant conservation charity, Plant Heritage.
“There’s the joy that they bring to all of us in the springtime … and also, in the future, they might be important for medicines for science,” she said.
The project runs from February 12 to Saint David’s Day on March 1, when the flowers are worn to mark the patron saint of Wales.
Businesses and gardeners are being asked to log where daffodils are blooming, along with basic information such as colour, type and height.
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There are three different shades of daffodils to look out for in particular (Image: Getty)
The three daffodils to look out for in particular are:
Mrs R O Backhouse, one of the first pink daffodils, has a salmon-pink trumpet and ivory flowers. It is thought to have been bred by leading female hybridist Sara Backhouse and named by her husband after her death in 1921.
The daffodil is known to exist in national collections but its actual whereabouts are unknown.
Mrs William Copeland – a white double-flowered daffodil named after the wife of breeder WFM Copeland. This white double-flowered daffodil which has not been on sale in recent years.
The Sussex bonfire – thought to be named after the famous bonfire night in Lews, a Sussex county town. This double-flowered yellow and orange daffodil has never been located.
Gwen Hines, chief executive of plant conservation charity Plant Heritage, : “Springtime daffodils are abundant, but rare varieties could be lost from our gardens and roadsides if they’re not found and cared for.
“While six national plant collections do protect some, many others aren’t yet safeguarded, which is why we encourage everyone to look for rare varieties this spring.”