Daffodils in History

Daffodils are native to the Mediterranean region, including the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and the Middle East. The earliest record that included mention of daffodils dates back to around 200 BC.

Although daffodils were a favorite of the ancient Greeks and Romans, by around 1600 they had fallen out of favor and essentially been forgotten. But that changed in 1629 when a group of English gardeners championed the daffodil and it regained its popularity among plant and flower lovers.

Colors and Symbolism

The most common color of daffodil is yellow, but you can also find flower varieties accented with white, orange, pink or lime green. During Victorian times when it was taboo for someone to put their romantic feelings into actual words, daffodils symbolized happiness and friendship.

Another hidden meaning of daffodils was noted to be “you are an angel.”

Fun Facts about Daffodils
• Daffodils were brought to Britain by the Romans who thought they had healing powers.
• Medieval Arabs used the juice of the wild daffodil as a cure for baldness.
• Roman soldiers carried poisonous daffodils to help them die more quickly if they were mortally wounded in battle.
• A Greek scholar named Theophrastus first wrote about daffodils around 300 BC in his Enquiry into Plants, which became an important influence on medieval science.
• The daffodil is the emblem of Wales and is worn on St. David’s Day, celebrated every year on March 1.

Because the daffodil is one of the first flowers of spring, it is also symbolic of hope. If your birthday falls in March, hopefully someone will remember you and send a happy bouquet of bright spring daffodils.

April: Daisy

By the time April arrives, spring is in full bloom in most parts of the country. The birthday flower for April is the cheerful, colorful daisy. Daisies symbolize childhood innocence, simplicity and joy, which makes them a wonderful choice to give in a spring bouquet or to grow in your garden.

Daises are close cousins to sunflowers and the three most popular varieties are the Shasta daisy, African daisy and gerbera daisy. Shastas have snowy white petals with bright yellow centers and make great cut flowers. African daisies grow closer to the ground and have white, orange, yellow or apricot flowers.

Gerbera daisies (or gerberas) are the most popular daisies and their large blooms can be found in a rainbow of bright colors, including pink, white, yellow, orange, cream, red and violet. The center of the flower can be almost any color and often a single flower will have petals of many different colors.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29