More from a lovely weekend

Summing up the day; bright warm sunshine bringing out the flowers and the insects. Lesser Tortoisehell and bulble bee on ×Chionoscilla 'Fra Angelico'

The good weather continued today, even warmer and sunnier than yesterday, so I have earned myself a stiff back with a good afternoon's work outside. Yesterday's post looked at dicots, so here, to balance things out, are some monocots.

There's a good reason why Crocus vernus 'Pickwick' is so popular.

Galanthus plicatus 'E.A. Bowles' reaches its peak late in the season: I think it's the finest of all poculiform snowdrops.

G. nivalis 'Susan Grimshaw' is also a late-season snowdrop, now just at its peak.

Narcissus 'Candlepower' is a miniature trumpet, quite delightful.

A (small) host of golden daffodils: in this case Narcissus perez-chiscanoi

A comparison of sizes of some early daffodils. From left: N. hipanicus 'Concolor; 'Bowles' Early Sulphur'; N. perez-chiscanoi; 'Navarre'; 'Lionel Bacon' (flower 2.2 cm from base of tube to rim of trumpet).

The classic yellow trumpet daffodils are largely derived from Narcissus hispanicus. It and its allies are distinguishable by having tiny dark points on the tips of the anthers, just visible here but somewhat more conspicuous before the pollen dehisces. This was grown from seed labelled N. hispanicus 'Patrick Synge', but the seedlings are quite variable.

A little Asian curiosity: Ypsilandra cavalerieri. It has a strong, pleasant perfume that I really can't describe.