One of the most welcome sights every spring are yummy, yellow daffodils. There they are suddenly appearing in yards, along driveways, roadways, in pots and planters. Their faithful return every year is a most hopeful sign…winter has come to an end. So faithful are they, that some eagerly push their way up through a late snowfall. A bright moment in your day might well be when suddenly they appear as you drive by. You smile and silently thank the gardener for thinking ahead to plant the bulbs.
William Wordsworth’s poem, Daffodils, sums up many of my thoughts about the daffodil. Therein he captures the beauty and gay feeling that comes with gazing upon them. I wonder, did he write this short poem at Rydal Mount, his home in Grasmere, England? I remember my visit there many years ago. Did he have a garden filled with daffodils or scattered about on the vast property? Maybe he passed by a patch of them in someone’s garden. Actually, it is believed that his inspiration was from a walk he and his wife, Dorothy, took on April 15, 1802 along the shore of Glencoyne Bay, Ullswater on their way back to Grasmere. How this is known is that Dorothy wrote about encountering the mass of daffodils in her journal on that day.
The line that reaches me the most is:
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.
We all have those moments when our minds drift. A most pleasurable place to land my thoughts is on a bright yellow daffodil dancing in the wind. Perhaps, I’m waxing lyrical a bit too much, but as it is one of the first flowers to bloom around town don’t we all give up a collective, Yea! Their brightness leaps out at us when we eye them tucked away in the parks and gardens.
I look forward to when markets and grocery stores are full of bunches of daffodils to buy. For those few weeks when they are abundant, I don’t have to imagine such yellow perfection. I can bring a bunch home. How they brighten a room.
The name, daffodil, was recorded in 1538, but before then it was written affodill. Whatever name they’re given—Jonquil (the popular name used in the South), Narcissus, “Poet’s Flower,” or Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus)—they’re commonly referred to as daffodils. From at least the 16th century, Daffadown Dilly, daffadown dilly, and daffydowndilly have appeared as alternative names.
It’s believed that the gift of a bunch of daffodils will ensure happiness. Today, they represent hope. Whereas in the Victorian days, they symbolized chivalry. Another belief is that it’s best to give daffodils in a bunch, as you wouldn’t want misfortune to follow by giving only one. It would certainly never occur to me to give only one, but maybe it’s a cautionary tale from a legend. There are many such legends surrounding the daffodil, those being just a few. Wales holds the daffodil in high regard. It’s their national flower and a tradition to wear a daffodil on March 1st. The Romans brought the daffodil to Britain. It was thought that their sap had healing powers. In Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, they are referenced twice in Act 4. Annually, King Charles is given one daffodil as rent for land on the Isles of Scilly.
Yes, there’s just something about the yummy, yellow daffodil. They come our way when we need their cheerful radiance the most. It’s no wonder they symbolize happiness and hope. Alas, they are not in bloom for very long so enjoy and take in the wonder that is the daffodil.
Happy Spring!
