Every gardener across the UK is being urged to check their backyards this spring for a rare flower. The experts at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) say identifying the flowers early is key to preserving them and ensuring this historic variety continues to thrive in gardens nationwide.
The rare flower in question is beautifully pink and white, making it hard to miss in any garden. By taking a few minutes to look in their own gardens, households can help scientists track the spread of the flowers across the UK.
Why do you need to check your garden?
The garden experts have launched an initiative as part of the RHS’s Daffodil Diaries project, which seeks to map gardens and green spaces across the UK.
This rare variety is said to be Narcissus “Mrs R.O. Backhouse” (named after flower breeder Sarah Backhouse) and is “one of the first pink daffodils, with a solid coral pink trumpet and ivory flowers,” said the RHS.
“While the daffodil is kept in national collections, its location outside these is mostly unknown. Most sightings reported by gardeners have actually been the ‘Salome’ variety, which starts yellow and turns peach as it matures.”
In its previous year, the project received 3,000 submissions and found that only 6% of British daffodil varieties feature pink blooms, the Telegraph reported.
The society hopes that gardeners who spot the Mrs R. O. Backhouse daffodils in their gardens will dig up the bulbs after they finish flowering and send them to the RHS research centre at RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey.
The RHS’s chief horticulturist, Guy Barter, commented: “With 30,000 daffodil varieties … in the UK, telling one from another requires an experienced eye, but this diversity is fundamental to their potential benefit for people and planet, and why it’s so important we celebrate and preserve them.
“Rare daffodils were spotted across the country [in 2025] and raising them in one location next year will enable us to confirm some of them as the rare varieties we have been searching for and, potentially, find others thought to be in decline.”
Other variations to look out for
Another rare daffodil is Narcissus “Mrs William Copeland,” a white, double-flowered variety. It is named after the breeder’s wife, WFM Copeland.
Gardeners should also look out for the Narcissus “Sussex Bonfire.” This is a double-flowered yellow and orange daffodil bred by Noel Burr.
The Sussex Bonfire “has never been located, and Plant Heritage’s Sussex Group would be delighted to add this to their shared National Plant Collection of daffodils,” reported the RHS.
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