Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Thinking About ... Daffodils



 I wandered lonely as as 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. 
  william wordsworth


I don’t normally read poetry. That wasn’t always the case. In first grade I found a book of poems in the school library that fascinated me. In high school, dissecting poetry dampened any enthusiasm.
There are a few poems I love. High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.; The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; The White Cliffs by Alice Duer Miller; I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.
I’ve loved daffodils as long as I can remember. When my Brownie Girl Scout troop graduated to Junior Girl Scouts, we needed an emblem, and I pushed hard for the daffodil, and succeeded.
The sunny daffodil’s trumpet is one of the first blooms to grace the Spring. Native to the Mediterranean area, and grown by the Greeks and the Romans, daffodils fell from favor and were forgotten until about 1629. A group of Englishmen rescued the daffodil from the weeds and put it back in the garden. As America settled and spread west, daffodils were “must have” in the garden. They even have their own American Daffodil Society.
Who can resist such a spritely flower? The memory of daffodils dancing in the breeze, outshining the sparkling lake beside them, brought poet William Wordsworth out of a pensive mood. He couldn’t help but be happy and laugh again.
What’s your favorite flower?

4 comments:

  1. If you love daffodils, then this is the perfect time of the year for you - or will be in a couple weeks when they are all out. My favorite flower is lilac.

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    1. Oh, yes, I love lilacs. So did my mom. My sister was born when the lilacs were blooming.

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  2. Oh, how to choose just one?! I think I'd choose the more exotic looking passion flower. I love its sweet subtle fragrance and unusual appearance.

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    1. Mary, I'll have to admit I had to google passion flowers! Do we have them in Wisconsin? Maybe in the Mitchell Park domes.

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