Frequently they are planted in long narrow bands along the front of the border, where they look rather stiff, particu larly as they are much taller than most of the early peren nials, and the result is not too pleasing, especially during the long period of maturing. A better method is to plant them in fairly thin undulating drifts through the middle foreground of the border. Here the foliage and blossoms of other plants, in front and behind, serve to cover up, or at least reduce the effect of the maturing foliage. Later the bare spaces they leave will also be masked, or they can be planted over with a few annuals. A third way is to scatter relatively small clumps of daffodils throughout the border, where they are charming with perennials blooming at the same time-columbine, mer tensia, flax, polemonium, pulmonaria, and low edging plants like aubretia, arabis, and violas.

Narcissus may also be planted in bold masses at the back of the border just in front of the enclosing shrubs or hedge. They combine well with shrubs and, being completely hidden later by perennials in the border, do not mar the late May and early June pictures. When planted in this manner, they must be placed far enough out from the enclosure to remain unshaded for several years. The space they occupy may re main unplanted the rest of the season, and even used as a service pathway to facilitate maintenance in the wide border.

Haphazard scattering of narcissus throughout the beds is not satisfactory. Use imagination in placing them to create compositions of good design. Avoid having too many bulbs or too many varieties. Select three or four representatives of important divisions of this large family, and plant them in large enough groups to be effective by themselves or in com bination with other flowering plants.

Narcissus look well with early iris, bleedingheart, cory dalis, meadowrue, polemonium, and mertensia; or behind broad masses of aubretia, arabis, forgetmenots, or the pale lavender or white Phlox subulata (but not the rosy, pink, or magenta shades, which do not compose well). When narcissus are planted in front of crabapples, cherries, shadbush, or forsythia, pleasing color combinations can be worked out, and the background shrubs be integrated with the herbaceous material in the border itself.

The terms daffodil and narcissus are interchangeable. Daf fodil is the common name of the whole tribe; narcissus, the generic or Latin name. Both refer to the entire group whether long or short-cupped varieties. The proper plural of narcissus is either narcissi or narcissuses, but common usage allows narcissus for both singular and plural. The term jonquil generally refers to a few varieties which bear more than one flower on a stalk.