Imagine a field of fresh golden daffodils waving in the spring breeze. Remember the old movie, Dr. Zhivago? The spectacular vision of golden flowers carpeting the ground under spring-leaved trees. A drift of color up a hillside. A huge sweep of gold into the distance. As beautiful as the fantasy is, it couldn't be easier to create. And you only have to do it once.

Naturalizing Daffodils. Probably nothing in the gardening world is more foolproof and more rewarding than "naturalizing" daffodils. Because unlike most other garden flowers, these fantastic plants are super-easy to plant in fall, they don't care about soil, as long as it's well-drained, and they'll bloom beautifully for you with absolutely no work every spring after you plant them. Best of all, daffodils increase over the years, each bulb developing into a blooming clump. All you have to do is pick the spots. The one thing to remember is that you won't be able to mow that area until the tops die down. Everything else takes care of itself. In a new or established wildflower meadow, the wildflower plants grow up around the daffodils hiding the fading foliage, so there's no work to do. And if you're planting wildflower seed, what could be easier that to pop in the bulbs when you have the ground already turned?

OK, what's the best Dutch daffodil for naturalizing? Well, most daffodils naturalize just fine, but if you want the classic drift of golden blooms, here's the story.

The King Alfred Story The world's most famous daffodil is the tall, golden, large-cupped one named King Alfred. It was introduced in Holland in 1899, and was an instant success. So King Alfred is now over 100 years old. Over the years, improved versions of the "King" were developed and given other names which gradually replaced "King Alfred", except in one place--the US. The Dutch Bulb Authorities tell us that gardeners here are so in love with King Alfred that even when improvements were made, the growers in Holland simply applied the old name to their new products. So today, there are several King Alfreds marketed in the US, and some garden centers and nurseries still use just the original name. We prefer to explain the whole story. The main one of these improved King Alfreds is actually named Dutch Master, introduced in 1948. As the Dutch say, "it is better and stronger, a more vigorous look-alike. It makes bigger bulbs and throws more flowers than the original King Alfred". The Netherlands Bulb Information Center makes it very clear. If you're looking for King Alfred daffodils, look no further. This is it, with improvements you'll love.