An unusual double daffodil bulb is on sale at Haskins Garden Centres to coincide with the centre’s Bulb Festival.

The sweet-smelling ‘Narcissus telamonius plenus Van Sion’ originally dates back to 1623 and is on sale for £4.99 at Haskins during its very own Bulb Festival.

The Van Sion lost daffodil variety is the same double bulb that Capability Brown once planted at Stowe. These bulbs were re-discovered several years ago during a National Trust restoration in Durham. Hidden beneath decades of heavy undergrowth, the double daffodils that were dormant began to bloom. The bulb has since been found in Aberdeenshire, Lincolnshire, Isle of Wight, Shropshire and Leicestershire.

All the locations in which the Van Sion lost bulb variety have been found are connected to Capability Brown’s former sites. Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown is widely considered to be England’s greatest gardener and landscape architect, having changed the face of eighteenth century England.

Lisa Looker, brand director at Haskins Garden Centres, commented: “We’re delighted to be selling this lost bulb variety during our Bulb Festival.

“Our Bulb Festival will serve to showcase the fanfare of colours which can be achieved by bulb planting. Planting bulbs in autumn is the perfect antidote to winter. More than 250 different varieties of bulbs are available to buy at Haskins.”

Haskins has teamed up with Lincolnshire-based Taylors Bulbs, suppliers of quality bulbs, to bring customers the old-fashioned Van Sion variety.

Duncan Witt, plant advisor at Taylors Bulbs, commented: “The mid to late season Van Sion bulbs are small in stature and when in bloom, look more like wild daffodils. They can be identified by their small tinges of green which show on the reverse of the petals.”

Haskins Garden Centres is based in Ferndown in Dorset, West End in Southampton and Roundstone and Snowhill in West Sussex. For more information visit www.haskins.co.uk