A gardening enthusiast has been given the opportunity to name a new species of daffodil after entering a competition at Cornwall's Spring Flower Show.
Geoff House, from Jacobstow near Bude, chosen Steren – the Cornish word meaning star – as the name for the new daffodil produced by Falmouth-based international daffodil expert Ron Scamp.
"It's just right," said Mr Scamp. "It has one to three flowers on each stem and is very scented, with a flower that opens with greenish tones that fade to greenish white with a yellow centre. It's a very prolific bloomer and in trials has proved to be disease resistant and has a long flowering season."
Geoff House was visiting Cornwall's 100th Spring Flower Show in the beautiful setting of Boconnoc, near Lostwithiel, when he decided to enter the prize draw marking the event's beginnings as the Daffodil Exhibition. Winning the draw gave him the opportunity to visit Mr Scamp's farm near Falmouth, select a bloom and choose its name. The flower he chose had been 16 years in development.
"Visiting Ron's site was a fantastic experience and although I had thought of lots of possible names beforehand, the name 'Steren' came to me on the day," he said.
Mr House intends to commission a botanical painting of the bloom by artist Laura Smith. Steren has been registered with the Royal Horticultural Society and a framed copy of the certificate, with a colour photograph of the flower, was presented to Mr House by Andrew Leslie, chairman of Cornwall Garden Society.
"The prize was a special way of marking the 100th show which started with the owners of large Cornish gardens showing off their daffodils," said Mr Leslie. "We look forward to Steren blooms being entered into the show in future."
A limited quantity of Steren bulbs are currently available from R A Scamp Quality Daffodils. Next year's Cornwall Garden Society Spring Flower Show will be held at Boconnoc on April 6 and 7. For details, visit www.cornwallspringflowershow.co.uk
