Daffodil Days

One of my favorite flowers is the Daffodil (Narcissus), they are part of the Amaryllidaceae family, grown from bulbs that go dormant in the winter months. Since the 1950's they have been a symbol of hope and resilience in the face of cancer. The National Holiday of “Daffodil Days” is celebrated every year, this year around March 22, 2024. During this time, the Solano County  break room would be filled with daffodils that could be bought to place in small vases that you could place on your desk, brightening up a rather drab cubicle. I brought them home for years and finally when I retired in 2014,  I planted my first bulbs in the backyard and they have continued to grow year after year, pictured below.

The bright flowers are early bloomers in the spring they aren't  fussy about soil, will grow in sun or part shade. There are many flower styles, including trumpets, doubles, split-cups, large-cups and jonquils.  They come in a variety of colors, white, pink, the most common yellow and orange. They have been associated with myths, magic, and folklore from bringing one good luck, fortune, and prosperity, to warding off evil spirits. William Wordsworth authored a particular moving poem about them in 1802, which I have included as it moved me :

Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, by William Wordsworth

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 a 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

Out-did 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.

photo by Nancy Forrest

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