Daffodils - Did You Know That...

Marianne Stephens:
(I tried to find photos of castles with Daffodils!)

1) The Daffodil is the flower for the month of March?

2) The Daffodil means rebirth/new beginning and beauty?

3) The botanic name for Daffodil is Narcissus? And here's a Greek tale how it got the name Narcissus:
A man name Narcissus loved to look at himself. One day when he was looking at himself in a pool of water, he fell in and drown. From his grave, a flower grew and it was a Narcissus..or Daffodil, a more common name. 

4) There's an American Daffodil Society? http://daffodilusa.org/

5) In China, the blooming of Daffodils is celebrated as a symbol o f wealth/good fortune?

6) The Daffodil is a symbol of cancer research?
 
7) For romantics, the Daffodil means rekindling an old love?

8) The Daffodil is the 10th wedding anniversary flower?

9) William Wordsworth wrote the following poem about Daffodils in 1804?

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.

Continuous as the stars that shine
  And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
  Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.




The waves beside them danced; but they
  Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
  In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
  In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
  Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

And, I'm happy to mention that MY Daffodils are blooming, bright yellow in color and adorn my front yard!


photos:Flickr: Karen Roe, Jack Pease, Duncan,  LauraBittner's photostreams

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