This article was published in the Vancouver Columbian in the March 2007 Inspirations sections. It was written by Larry Books, of Gallery Florist, who wrote for the Columbian Inspirations "Designer's Eye" column for four years about flowers and plants.
The Daffodil, the first bloom of a new year!
This being March, I love to drive into town in the early morning and see the clumps of daffodils blooming in fields, yards and especially in places that surprise you to see them.
I often wonder just who may have planted the bulbs and how long ago it happened? Is the person still alive and who are/were they? It is a very simple act of planting a bulb alongside the roadway, among the grasses and weeds, yet it brings beauty to all who pass, for many, many years.
I imagine that some were not planted at all, but may have been carried in by a bird or animal, but the flowers grew there for us all to treasure and enjoy. And, the bulb often grew into many bulbs and often covers a large meadow with their buttery yellow blossoms.
Even before the first daffodils appear along side the road in spring, I enjoy seeing them planted up in small containers in our store, Gallery Florist. Right after Christmas they start showing up at the Portland Flower Market as sprouting bulbs, as well as full grown blooming plants. My favorites are the miniatures, which we plant in small ceramic, or terra cotta containers and look great on a windowsill or a desk.
A good way to bring in a little of the outdoors feeling when the cold winter still has a few months to go! Though only a few inches high, they are every bit s pretty and delicate as the full sized ones that appear outside in March.
Being a florist, when I think of the daffodil as a popular flower, it isn’t high on my list.
I think of roses or tulips as being popular, but not the daffodil. Yet the daffodil, considered the first flower of spring, is a symbol of hope, renewal, and for the American Cancer Society, the promise that one day the world will be free of cancer. Not only is it the symbol for the American Cancer Society, the daffodil is a symbol for cancer societies worldwide.
And, the daffodil is extremely popular globally, as well as here in the United States, where there are nearly 100 public daffodil gardens, as well as numerous community festivals celebrating the daffodil every spring.
There are daffodil organizations and shows, with the American Daffodil Society being the largest organization honoring and working to improve the daffodil.
The American Daffodil Society, daffodilusa.org (ADS), was founded in 1954 and as of September 1995 the ADS had 1,260 members in 47 states and an additional 140 members in other countries. Local chapters are the Central Washington Daffodil Society and the Oregon Daffodil Society. Both can be found on the web site for the ADS.
Probably the largest daffodil festival in the Pacific Northwest is The Daffodil Festival, in the cities of Tacoma, Puyallup and Orting. This year they will celebrate with their 74th Annual Grand Floral Street Parade on April 21st that will travel through all three cities on that day. The Theme for 2007 will be "Daffodils & all that Jazz". This year, the American Daffodil Society will be holding its Annual National Convention in Tacoma, in conjunction with the festival, April 20-23. The convention will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Tacoma.
The Daffodil Festival and the three cities are inviting everyone to attend the many Horticulture and Photography displays and classes that will be held during the convention and the festival. More information is available on the Internet at www.daffodilfestival.net
I have often heard the daffodil called a narcissus or a jonquil. The American Daffodil society says that there is no difference. The two words are synonymous. Narcissus is the Latin or botanical name for all daffodils. Daffodil is the common name for all members of the genus Narcissus. They also say that in some parts of the country, any yellow daffodil is called a jonquil, usually incorrectly. As a rule, but not always, jonquil species and hybrids are characterized by several yellow flowers, strong scent, and with rounded foliage.
The way Americanmedows.com describes the difference, is that the official botanical name of the whole genus is Narcissus. Daffodil is the common name. Jonquil is a “species name” within the Narcissus genus. This means that certain daffodils are called Narcissus jonquilla.
Some people, particularly in our Southern states, use Jonquil as a common name for the whole genus, but it’s really the species name for a minor group having multiple smaller flowers on each stem. So when you’re using the common name, all colors, sizes and types are daffodils. If you get into the botanical or Latin names, they all begin with Narcissus (the “genus”) and end with a different “species” name.
Remember the Greek myth about Narcissus and Echo? Greek mythology gives us the term narcissus. A young Greek named Narcissus and the nymph called Echo, who was in love with him. But Narcissus broke off the relationship. Heartbroken, Echo hid in a cave and died. Later, Narcissus, who was very handsome and quite taken with him self, saw his face in a pool and as he leaned over to see his reflection better, fell in and drowned.
Only a golden daffodil, which still bears his name, was left standing on the pool bank. Psychologists sometimes refer to vain patients, as having a “Narcissus complex.”
The history of the daffodil, like the other popular bulb flower, the tulip, is very interesting. When I think of the daffodil, I think of Holland and the Dutch growing daffodils, but daffodils are originally from Spain and Portugal. Most of the true “wild” forms of these bulbs are still available, but the wild ones are sometimes hard to find.
The miniatures we enjoy today, and my favorites, are very similar to those “wildflowers” they are derived from.
Though the Dutch come to mind when thinking of the daffodil, the English has been the more dominate influence on the flower.
The daffodil started to first show up in English gardens around the 1200’s.
Katherine Whiteside, who wrote of daffodil history in Classic Bulbs, states that dried specimens of daffodil blossoms were found on mummies' funeral wreaths dating to as early as 1570 B.C. and daffodils have been found in China and other Asian countries for many hundreds of years.
The Egyptians and the ancient Greeks were the first to cultivate and prize the daffodil.
England has long had a love affair with daffodils. Both Shakespeare, in A Winter's Tale and Robert Herrick’s To Daffodils, spoke of the flower.
However, one of the most famous daffodil pieces is by another British poet, William Wordsworth. In his classic poem, first published in 1804 and sometimes referred to as “Daffodils.”
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 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.
The Romans, who thought that the sap from daffodils contained great healing powers, brought daffodils to Britain. Actually the sap contains crystals that can irritate the skin, yet keep animals from eating the bulbs when we plant them.
In 1887, another Englishman, Peter Barr, traveled by mule and horse throughout Spain, Portugal and France, carrying pictures of the daffodils he was searching for. On his search, he collected thousands of bulbs.
After being dubbed "The King of Daffodils," at age 77, he began a five-year around the world trip to promote daffodils.
Thanks to English daffodil enthusiasts such as Barr, the majority of the 25,000 daffodil cultivars have been developed in the British Isles, with The Netherlands second and the United States third. , These hybridizers have created thousands of versions featuring all sizes and a vast palette of colors, from the classic creamy golden yellows and whites to bright orange and even stunning pinks.
Though some bulb flowers will not reproduce readily and last only a few years, the daffodil produces new bulbs and once planted, will usually continue to grow in that location, unless disturbed. The daffodil even will grow in the shade and is an extremely hardy flower.
Both squirrels and rodents do not like the taste of the bulbs, yet they occasionally will dig them up. However, certain insects do like their taste, which can be a problem.
Daffodils multiply in two ways: asexual cloning (bulb division) where exact copies of the flower will result, and sexually (from seed) where new, different flowers are produced.
Hybridizers cross-pollinate the flowers to produce seeds to grow daffodils with new colors or features.
Daffodils flower from six weeks to six months, depending on where you live and the variety of daffodil it is. At Gallery Florist, we can get booming daffodils at any time of the year, as they are grown in greenhouses under controlled conditions, all year round. Our designers love to mix daffodils with other striking flowers in their arrangements.
Outside, daffodils can be grown in all the states in the continental United States, except Parts of Florida, where it is frost-free.
For the flower to bloom it requires a freeze, whether naturally occurring, or induced, during its time of dormancy.
To me, the daffodil may not be one of the most popular flowers, but it is definitely a symbol of beauty and hope with an interesting history. As you travel about this spring, look at the daffodils blooming in yards, gardens and along the roadside and think about just how they might have been planted there and by whom?
Perhaps you might even make the trip to the Tacoma area and enjoy the Daffodil Festival this year! But please enjoy nature’s beautiful first sign of spring and hope, for we all need to take the time to enjoy nature’s beauty and the inner peace it can bring.
