These miniature daffodils grow on the South side of a mound facing the house, sprouting from low ground covers to bloom, grow and die down again until the next blooming season.
The only care we give them is to scatter pet-safe snail bait, formulated with iron phosphate. Left alone, the snails will happily chew off the petals in a couple of days.
Finding a good low ground cover – or bulb cover – has been a bit of a challenge. It needs to be a plant that really hugs the ground, so that it doesn’t block sunlight to the daffodils’ leaves or hide their flowers. We don’t water this area much, so the plant has to be tough, with deep roots. Creeping thyme failed when a solenoid in an irrigation valve went bad, causing it not to water.
Our best candidates for now are Silver Carpet (Dymondia margaritae) and Woolly Yarrow (Achillea tomentosa). The Dymondia survived frosts in the twenties (Fahrenheit), and looks like it’s currently the best candidate for this use. The yarrow is hardy well below anything we’re likely to experience here, barring an ice age.