One of my all time favourites! How can you not smile when you see Daffodils, Jonquils, Paperwhites or Erlicheer?? And yes, that's technically 4 flowers, but they're all in the same family.
The fancy name is Narcissus. Of course the well known tale is they're named after Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection in a the water so much that the Gods turned him into a Daffodil so he wouldn't starve and he could then stay there forever looking at how gorgeous he was. Silly little rabbit!
My favourite is the Erlicheer, there's something very vintage about them and when they're in season I'll sprinkle them in everything! I love the fragrance, but it's a love/hate thing. You either love it or hate it. I love it because it reminds me of my Great Grandmothers garden when I was very small. It's amazing how flowers can instantly take you back in time. If you don't like the smell, don't worry, Daffofils have no fragrance, only jonquils.
Did you know you can get them in a few different colours? Cream, orange, pink, white and yellow. There's a frilly trumpeted Daffodil that is in the softest orange trumpet with cream petals - now that's a beautiful Daffodil.
There's a few meanings for Narcissus including egotism & vanity (obviously!), regard, forgiveness, chivalry, unrequited love, a return to spring & rebirth (that's in the Northern Hemisphere).
When it comes to care.... The need some quarantine time unless you plan I keeping them on their own. The sap that comes out of the stem is toxic to other flowers. When you get them, cut at least 2cm off then keep them cool and away from the sun. Leave them on their own for a day if you plan on mixing them with other flowers. (Yes your qualified, experienced florists do this behind the scenes).
