An ode to the daffodil.

#01 FLOWER OF THE SEASON — spring edition.

“Then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils”. William Wordsworth

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Though they have now been mostly supplanted by tulips, bluebells and greenery in our garden; the daffodil (or Narcissus) is the flower I have brought into our home most this spring. From the £1 supermarket joy-inducing bargain daffs to the impossibly tall, delicate paperwhites, and the varieties that have grown from the bulbs I planted in the ground in the closing days of November.

Planting bulbs in the final days of November

What’s in a name?

The words ‘daffodil’ and ‘Narcissus’ are often used interchangeably but daffodil is the common name for the spring flowering bulb in the genus Narcissus (of which there are many varieties), so calling them ‘Narcissus’ covers all bases.

The word ‘daffodil’ is possibly from the Old English word ‘affodyle’, which means “that which cometh early” referring to its appearance in early spring. ‘Narcissus’ is believed to come from the Ancient Greek myth about the hunter Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water, eventually turning into a yellow and white flower. Arabic poets spoke of daffodils being the eyes of the garden and they often crop up in English literature from Shakespeare (“Daffodils, that come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty”) to the Romantics, Keats and famously, Wordsworth.

As one of the earliest flowers to bring colour after the stark, cold days of winter, daffodils symbolise rebirth and new beginnings. There is nothing more uplifting than the appearance of a clump of daffodils rising from the earth interspersed with hellebores and snowdrops to signal that spring is on its way.

A close up of the mixed Narcissi including Cragfords from the garden

National treasure.

Being the daughter of a Welshman, daffodils featured throughout my childhood. The daffodil, a quintessential symbol of Wales, conveniently blooms in time for St David’s Day on the 1st March. The daffodil was made popular as a symbol by David Lloyd George, British Prime Minister of Welsh descent (1916-1922) who advocated for them to be worn on lapels in place of the traditional leek.

As well as being an important national symbol, the daffodil is also a form of currency…! To this day, the Isles of Scilly (where Narcissi grow abundantly) pay rent of one daffodil each year to the Duchy of Cornwall which owns the land.

Narcissus ‘Cragford’ grown in the garden

My daffodils.

A clump of buttery wild daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) were the first to emerge in our garden in February, from bulbs that must have been planted by the previous owners.