March Birth Flowers: Daffodil and Jonquil (gouache style)

Both of March's birth flowers are narcissi. A daffodil has a central trumpet, the corona, set against a ring of six petals, and Britain's own wild daffodil, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, is small, with pale petals around a deeper yellow trumpet. It's a national emblem of Wales, worn on St David's Day, 1 March. Jonquils, Narcissus jonquilla, come from Spain and Portugal and carry several small, strongly scented flowers on each stem.

Daffodil bulbs go in from late summer into autumn, ideally by the end of September, at about two to three times their own depth. They're happy in sun or light shade and will naturalise in grass if you hold off mowing. After flowering, snap off the dead heads but leave the leaves for at least six weeks, without knotting them, so the bulbs can build up next year's flowers. Jonquils want a warmer, sunnier spot with sharp drainage.

Yellow daffodils and smaller narcissi stand against a soft sky-blue ground. It's the colour pairing of early spring: fresh yellow flowers under a clearing sky. Putting the large trumpets beside the smaller blooms shows the range within one family, and it ties a March birthday to the month the daffodils return.