Apart from the daffodils next to Crickhowell Fire Station, which don’t count as they are always out before the turkey carcass is, I have seen the first daffodils of 2025 out in full bloom – and they are close to the top of the Sugar Loaf. How’s that for hardiness and enthusiasm.

I’m sure I always mention that my dad used to tell me that when he was in primary school, he and his brother had a job to find a daffodil in bloom in their garden in time for St David’s Day. He remembered his mum bringing the tight, reluctant buds into the house at the end of February to try to coax them out of their papery jackets to open in time for the boys to wear them to school on the 1st March. Seventy years later the daffs are out almost two months earlier – but it’s not what you think.

It’s not all about climate change, these particular daffodils are Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation', a classic yellow variety that is recognised as one of the earliest daffodils to flower. In many areas (sheltered or not) it is actually often in bloom for Christmas. The fact that it is a classic yellow-flowered variety often misleads us to think that it is the climate rather than the variety which is the early-flowering-factor.

Not everyone appreciates early daffs but if you want that splash of early colour in your garden there are several (other) early flowering varieties to choose from. Daffodil ‘Spring Dawn’ is another exceptionally early variety. With paler outer petals and a yellow centre, they are a bit different to the traditional varieties so will add a bit of contrast. Narcissus 'February Gold' is another traditional-looking early-flowering variety and despite it’s name is often blooming in January.

At the other end of the spring flowering calendar is the new variety, ‘Winifred Van Graven’. It is a is a very strong, reliable variety, very similar to Pheasant’s Eye and will bloom as late as May. With a bit of planning it is possible to get a good show of daffodils from the beginning of the year until after Easter. Rather than plant in different groups, I would be tempted to mix the bulbs up in a bucket and plant them in the same area. That will give you an area of interest for a substantial amount of time – and that’s without including other spring flowering bulbs.

I hate seeing the loftier daffs flattened by heavy rain and storms so another option may be the dwarf varieties – also excellent for containerising, balconies or even windowsills.

The most popular dwarf daffodil is 'Tête-à-tête' which grows to just 15cm high but have a look at 'Rip van Winkle' too, which is a lovely flamboyant dwarf cultivar with cut petals giving the flowers a starry appearance. It provides fabulous cut flowers and is particularly effective grown in pots.

I always recommend starting a gardening diary at this time of year as I can guarantee you will have forgotten all about the beauty and versatility of these daffodils by planting time in the autumn. Make a note in the diary now to avoid disappointment.

A good tip for getting the most out of daffodils cut for the house, is to wait for the ‘goose neck’ stage before picking them. This is when the flower-bud drops to a right angle, after the straight-up stage (pencil stage) and the papery jacket will have receded.

I’m not sure that these are technical terms that you will hear on Gardeners World, but I’m confident you will all know what I mean, and that’s what matters.