Spring = Flowers!

Well, it would if the grass wasn't buried under feet of snow still.

Ahh March. You're here, and even though spring isn't officially (who decides these things?) due to arrive for another 18 days,  I'm looking forward to seeing green grass instead of dirty snow.


I know that the adage is that "April showers bring May flowers*" but my favorite flower is one that starts to rear its head (bulb) in mid-February.... the lovely daffodil.

Also known as narcissus, the name of the flower comes from the myth of Narcissus (you know, the guy who was the original narcissist) who happened to catch his reflection by the lake, fell in love with it and stared at it so intently that he (depending  who you hear it from) fell in and drowned OR couldn't tear himself away so he just starved to death. And the very first narcissus flower bloomed on that very spot.

The original narcissist. 

Narcissus by Michelangelo Caravaggio

For nerds - Narcissus, the person, is also closely tied to the story of Echo.

Anyway, I really like daffodils. One of my favorite things is that they're always the first flower to pop up, usually in early February and though they typically come in three colors (yellow, white, orange, and the combination thereof), there are a million different varieties. Some are closed buds, some are double layers, and some are just simple flowers - the bell and the petals.

I think part of the reason why I love daffodils is that when my family moved when I was ten, I went to the store and picked out bulbs and planted a bunch of daffodils around the light post. Even though I didn't pay much attention, this hearty flower bloomed regularly every February.

In college and grad school, I always noticed the flowers peeking out from the soil on campus. 

When I was living in Alabama, I noticed that one of my co-workers had a daffodil tote bag. I commented on it and the next day she brought be a whole bouquet of flowers for my desk.

They herald the spring like little flower trumpets.

And now, a poem by Wadsworth:

 

 

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

*bad joke alert - If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? PILGRIMS!! (get it? May flowers...the Mayflower....)