Yesterday was such a glorious spring day that I couldn't resist popping into my garden to indulge in one of my favourite hobbies - photographing the flowers. The sun was shining down onto my daffodils, which are in full bloom, and I took this picture of them against a background of primroses.Daffodils are the birthday flower for those born in March and are also associated with Easter and the Spring Equinox. They were, of course, made famous in the poem by William Wordsworth that goes:
"I wandered lonely as a cloudMagically, they are one of many spring flowers - like the crocus - associated with love, luck, fertility and rebirth.
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."
According to Cunningham's Encyclopaedia of Magical Herbs
, daffodils are perfect to put on an altar when casting love spells. Placed in a bedroom, they are supposed to increase fertility and, if worn next to the heart, they will attract good luck.As an added precaution, avoid treading on daffodils when you are out and about because gardening folklore says trampling them will bring bad luck, whereas leaving them alone brings good luck. You should never pick wildflowers without permission of the land's owner anyway, but this is an added reason to leave flowers growing for everyone to enjoy.
In Wales, an old saying is that he who sees the first daffodil of the spring will find more gold than silver in the year ahead. An early daffodil is, at least, a more likely thing to find than the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...
Links:
http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww260.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/crocuses-for-love-insight-and-magic.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/primroses-for-love-protection-and-fairy.html
Encyclopaedia of Magical Herbs (Llewellyn's Sourcebook Series)
http://www.geocities.com/thedaffodilgarden/lore.htm
5 comments:
Two days ago, I too could see crocus and perhaps daffodils coming up. But after 8+ inches of snow... a different kind of nature photo... (on my blog: www.jdaviesreazor.com)
I noticed the first daffodils here last week--and then we got about 4 inches of snow! We have a hillside next to the house that's dotted with daffodils. And I also noticed the tulips poking their heads up through the ground!
I heard about the snow in America. It does seem to be a harsh winter this year.
Jenny - I love the pictures on your blog!
Riverwolf - tulips are lovely. I haven't got any in my garden yet. Hopefully soon.
This is a great article. I moved onto a really old homestead a couple years ago. The first year I didn't really notice the daffodils much but last year I got a camera at tax time and then the flowers bloomed. I captured 20 different variations. -- Mope to find more this year. Here is last years album. http://picasaweb.google.com/destiny911/DaffodilsOfTheOhioValleySpring2008
They are lovely pictures on your Picasa page.
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