Narcissus poeticus is the last of the daffodils to bloom each spring, arriving in mid-season with pure white perianth segments that radiate from a flat, disc-shaped corona rimmed in a thin band of red. It is this detail, that scarlet edge against the yellow-green disc, that has made it a recurring subject for painters and poets since antiquity. The fragrance is intense, almost heady on warm afternoons, which makes placement near a path or window worthwhile. Growing to about seventeen inches, it naturalizes readily under deciduous trees or in rough grass where it can be left undisturbed for years.

Plant six weeks before first frost, four to five inches deep, and give the soil good drainage, since the poisonous alkaloid content that makes this plant pest-resistant does nothing to protect it from bulb rot in wet conditions. The foliage has a distinctive blue-green cast and should be left to die back completely before cutting. Mass plantings in border fronts or container groupings allow the flowers' simplicity to register properly: each stem carries a single bloom, and that restraint is the point.