Easter Flowers

As an important Christian festival, Easter has often been associated with floral gifts and bouquets. The white Easter Lily has represented love and hope. Its single flower atop the stem indicates Christ’s Resurrection after His crucifixion. Legend holds that where drops of His blood fell, grew a Lily. In Catholic nations, some attribute the love and purity to His Mother, the Virgin Mary and fill their churches with Lilies at Easter-time.

Contemporary arrangements now include some or all of the following, depending on the meaning you wish to convey at Easter.

The sweetly fragranced Daisy, with its purity and placidness, suit the Easter occasion. Including the elegant Azaleas in a bouquet may whisper that you hope the recipient will take good care of themselves for your sake.

Daffodils signify love and respect and by giving a bouquet of them at Easter, you are declaring that the recipient is your one true love. 

Chrysanthemum in an Easter gift indicates your respect for them and its inclusion is a sign of cheerfulness, except for yellow. The popular spring bulb, the Tulip, is a messenger of belief and love. Red Tulips are for I Love You messages. Mixed tulip bouquets make a statement on how beautiful are your eyes! Yellow tulips mean that you are Hopelessly in Love with the recipient and not necessarily an Easter message.

Although Hyacinth is also included for its sweet fragrance, each colour represents something different and not necessarily associated with the Christian festival. 

Please mindful of Easter flowers that may be harmful to your pets. If you have cats, Easter lilies must be kept out of their reach.

Purple Daisies, photo by Marian Munro

White Daisies, photo by Marian Munro

Azaleas, photo by Marian Munro

Easter lilies on postcard from the collection of Marian Munro

Daffadowndilly

Daffodil – March’s birth flower

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,

She wore her greenest gown;

She turned to the south wind

And curtsied up and down.

She turned to the sunlight

And shook her yellow head,

And whispered to her neighbour:

"Winter is dead."  A. A. Milne

Representing Chivalry or Regard, these welcome spring bulbs offer all shades from white to intense sunshine yellow. Some know them as daffadowndilly , jonquil and Narcissus. They belong to the genus Narcissus of the amaryllis family, with no native members in Nova Scotia. Narcissus is a Greek word, meaning narcotic and shared in mythology by the youth who fell in love with his own reflection.

As garden favourites they have been reportedly cultivated since earliest days of gardens, gaining popularity since the 1600s, with plant breeders. There are thousands of cultivars available and the Netherlands has built an industry around the provision of these and other spring bulbs. The plants contain alkaloids, rendering them toxic if ingested although that property is currently being exploited in the development of a treatment for dementia due to Alzheimers disease.

Serving as the national flower of Wales, daffodils also represent various campaigns for cancer fund-raising, in Canada associated with the month of April.

Wolfville daffodils, photo by Stephanie Smith

Daffodils, anon.