Daffodils are my entry for the In A Vase On Monday Challenge, hosted by Ramblings in the Garden. The yellow and orange variety is displayed within a Victorian Milk Glass Hand Posy Vase. A sprig of evergreen Japanese Photinia helps to keep the stems in place. My outdoor gardens are coming back to life with Spring bulbs appearing in every bed, making it easier to once again take part in this challenge.
I drape beaded garlands from small hooks beneath the mantel and hang simple cardstock Easter bunnies on the length. A cottonball is glued on for the fluffy tail. I keep Christmas tree hooks at the ready all year long. They come in handy for projects and decorations; I even use them in the gardens.
I listened to the weather report this morning and know Chicago is experiencing snow. Their weather system will soon head our way and meet up with another big storm moving up the coast line creating a powerful Nor’easter. Snow is on the way.
The forsythia bursting into bloom just a few days ago has bowed its yellow blossoms in defeat, closing their cuplike petals against the cold and coming precipitation.
Only a few days ago I walked the neighborhood sidewalks with my grand-daughters, searching for periwinkles in bloom. We found a few, but now those brave little flowers will soon be buried under inches of snow. No one wants to experience a record-setting snowstorm so close to Spring. My wish is for just a few inches of the beautiful white stuff and then glorious sunshine prompting a quick meltaway.
The daffodils look like they know what is coming and have already given up. Later on, I’ll go out and once again cut anything that is blooming, rather than leaving pretty flowers outdoors to languish under the snow.
Today’s Color Your World – 120 Days of Crayola color is Goldenrod. I don’t have any goldenrod flowers on hand, but I do have the promise of daffodils growing in my garden. Yesterday, I walked around the yard and found the promise of Spring in the midst of a nice clump of daffodil leaves.
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Early Bird.”
“For this week’s photo challenge, get up early and explore the morning light.”
“Symplocarpus foetidus, commonly known as skunk cabbage or eastern skunk cabbage (also swamp cabbage, clumpfoot cabbage, or meadow cabbage, foetid pothos or polecat weed), is a low growing, foul-smelling plant that grows in wetlands of eastern North America.” ~ Wikipedia
I love this photo I captured of an unfurling skunk cabbage growing beside a creek bed. The early morning light highlights the intense green of the leaves and reveals the texture of the plant in the soft shadows.
Skunk cabbage does have a bit of an odor, but only if you get close enough to break or step on it. I always enjoy seeing its early awakening, a sure sign of Spring.
Sunlight slants through my back windows in the mid-morning hours. This is a favored spot for displaying a vase of flowers. I enjoy the silhouette of the arrangement as much as the actual flower.
In this photo you see a birdbath that is a part of my earliest memories. It was my grandmother’s, and I remember standing beside it, so small that my eyes were level with the rim, trying to resist the temptation to swirl my fingers in the water. My mother had the birdbath in her yard for many years, then my sister had a turn using it. Last night, my sister and I exchanged birdbaths. The smooth sides of the mirrored interior were causing the bees from her hives to slide into the water and drown; there is no rough foothold for them to stand upon as they drink. The concrete birdbath I had in my yard will do a better job as a water source for the bees. Joy filled my heart early this morning, as I peered down from my back window and saw not only the treasured birdbath, but the pastel rays of sunrise reflecting in it’s surface. I couldn’t have planned a more perfect photograph for the weekly challenge.
“The daffodil is a symbol of rebirth – a sign of the new beginnings that come with spring. Daffodils are often found connected with Easter and Easter religious services because of their new birth significance. In Wales finding the first daffodil of spring is expected to bring more gold than silver to your life and home during the following 12 months. The word “Daffodil” didn’t come into the English language until the 1500s. The old name for daffodil was “Affodyle,” believed to originate with the Old English “Affo dyle,” meaning “that which cometh early.” It ultimately derived from Dutch de affodil meaning “the asphodel”(of Greek mythology).” ~oocities.org
Longwood Gardens Conservatory Daffodils
Daffodils are considered by many to be the best Spring bulb. Tulips are gorgeous too, but do not have the reliability of the daffodil. The sad truth is tulips eventually decline in their blooming ability. Most of us take daffodils for granted. Their abundance, created by the ability to quickly reproduce and create naturalized fields of flowers, cause many to consider them common.
This year, I almost lost a large clump of my daffodils through neglect. Accidentally uprooted when I transplanted favorite flowers to overwinter in the house, they were left exposed on the ground for months. When the ground became too frozen to replant the bulbs, I brought them into the garage.
Forgotten daffodil bulbs
My good intentions were soon forgotten, and the daffodil bulbs languished in an old sweet potato box for several weeks. A few days ago, I noticed them, and was overjoyed they had begun to sprout. The garage stayed cold enough through this brutal winter to give them the “chilling” time they needed. I soon had them planted in some potting soil in a terracotta pot.
Potted Daffodils
The terracotta pot fit perfectly inside a beautiful urn, I eagerly await the blooms. Wishing you a daffodilly of a day! 😀
“So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” ~ Hosea 6:3
Longwood Gardens Conservatory Daffodils
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” ~ Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”
~ William Wordsworth, I Wander’d Lonely as a Cloud
“Symbolizing rebirth and new beginnings, the daffodil is virtually synonymous with spring. Though their botanic name is narcissus, daffodils are sometimes called jonquils, and in England, because of their long association with Lent, they’re known as the ‘Lent Lily.'” ~ Teleflora
I will praise you, my God and King,
And bless your name each day and forever.
Great is Jehovah! Greatly praise him!
His greatness is beyond discovery! Let each generation tell its children
What glorious things he does.
I will meditate about your glory,
Splendor, majesty and miracles.
Your awe-inspiring deeds
Shall be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness.
Everyone will tell about how good you are,
And sing about your righteousness.
Today I emptied out a summer pot and filled the back side with a mixture of early tulips and daffodils. In the front of these I planted a dozen winter pansies. I have not decided if I will let the pansies rough it through the winter months, or if I will coddle them a bit by covering on frigid and snowy nights…still deciding…will update in the coming cold months. Brrrrrr…………
T’is the season to let your senses be filled with flowers of all kinds. Artists and Crafters are welcome to use these photographic images of flowers as reference photos.
I love the bunches of daffodils you can purchase at this time of year. They bring a burst of color indoors, banishing away the cold and grey of the wintry sky. I also appreciate the subtle whiff of scent they waft into the air.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 16:24-25
MINDING MY P'S WITH Q 