Daisy: Innocence, childhood, sunshine & light Bellis are perennial flowering plants of the asteraceae or sunflower family. The group is native to Europe, the Mediterranean and Northern Africa. The daisy family is one of the largest families of flowering plants in terms of number of species. According to the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew, the family comprises of more than 1,600 genera and 23,000 species. Daisies are characterized by a star shaped flower head, bright yellow centre and long, white petals. The name "Asteraceae" actually comes from the Greek, word Aster, meaning star. The most familiar is the common daisy, bellis perennis which looks exactly like that description. They mostly grow between 5-20cm high and produce one flower per slender stem. Bellis is the latin word for pretty. I love daisies. They are unpretentious, cute and cheerful. Such a well known flower cannot fail to have attracted many admirers hence giving it so many meanings and symbols. I've chosen the ones that I felt most appropriate, what I feel the daisy connotes most. My wonderful parents bought me a really cute little blue car, chosen by one of my equally wonderful sisters. Its not at all fancy or ostentatious, much like a daisy. So I called it so. I love her. I've been kinda terrified of driving for years after a few incidents with inconsiderate drivers. But its time to break through the fear and anxiety, to allow new doors to open and to move forward to new horizons. My mantra to conquer the fear is "it will give you wings" I'm littlebird and i feel like i have lost my wings so maybe this will help me get them back. Deep breaths, slow steps and kind thoughts. And some cute daisy stickers for some extra flower power. I think i've always had flowers in my soul; some of my earliest memories are of happy sun drenched days, making daisy chains on the grass. The sight of the little white blooms always takes me back to those days and the quiet joy it brought me. I actually think all my favourite flowers are all wild, the cultivated types are exquisite of course but i just adore the nonchalant energy of wild flowers. They chose to grow there, no one planted them and they feel no need to wait for permission. Their bold nature inspires me. A wild flowers beauty is understated and not their most important quality; they are life givers for bees and butterflies. They make the world go round. Pretty comes last. I think thats how humans are too, our looks are the least important part of us. We have no real control over them so why celebrate people for something that simply is? A compassionate heart, a brilliant mind, an artistic soul- these are all far more worthwhile traits to admire. A great figure and a face that society deems attractive? Nope, not on the same level. At all. Our body is our home so naturally we want it to look its best, but its what is in our homes that matters most. The outside is a shell, an armour that often really says nothing about what lies beneath. Dig deeper, look closer. I am very fortunate to have been invited back to the manor and its majestic gardens, to frolic amongst the flowers once again. I get them and they get me. In the meantime, im back home with a few projects and ideas to keep me busy until i head south again. My wanderings lead me to the dwellings of my old companions- forget me nots in the meadow, sweet peas by the hedgerow, rosebay's striking pink head peeking through the grasses. Last summer was when i really dove head first into the world of flowers so to see the flowers that captivated me first, in bloom again, is rather lovely. Its grounding actually and so comforting to know that some things are in life are constant. The world has gone a bit mad. More and more stories of violence and hate fill our airways and i dont want to know. Call me ignorant, selfish, uncompassionate, whatever; i just don't feel it necessary or conducive for change, to read about the sad things my fellow humans are doing to each other and the earth. I care, my gosh do i care, and that's precisely why its so hard to read these stories. More than ever, we have to try and be our best selves and be kind to everyone. Not just with our words or actions, our thoughts too.
“If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” Roald Dahl I love that quote. Okay, back to our little daisy. A look into the etymology of its English name hints at its virtues. The word "daisy" is Old English for "day's eye". This could refer to one of two (or indeed both) events that occur in nature: the beginning of each day, which is illustrated by the daisy closing its petals in the evening, and opening at dawn to greet the day. Or the arrival of spring, when the daisy appears for the first time in the year. Both daybreak and spring are strongly connected to the power of the sun; Native Americans actually recognised the bright yellow centre as the sun itself and the white petals as the rays. A symbol of sun and all that it embodies- light, joy, warmth, vitality, life. Some regard daisies as weeds but i disagree; I believe its a daisies intrinsic role to sprout all over the grass to spread some cheer. That's why cutting them down doesn't work- they have a more important job to do that is far deeper than their pretty little faces would suggest. As well as providing food for insects, they have been used in the past by herbalists for their anti-inflammatory and astringent properties. Plus think of all the children that love to make daisy chains, just like i did. Lastly, In the Victorian era of the language of flowers, a daisy attached the message of "i share your sentiments". What joy it must have brought people to receive a bouquet from their sweetheart, bearing happy news. I'm smiling just thinking of it. Lets all remember to be kind, to find joy in each day and to prove our worth is far more than what we look like. A daisy is such a common sight, they barely receive a passing glance from most, but there huge depth to them, should we wish to discover it. Choose to see the good things. Choose to think happy thoughts. Choose to act kindly. Life will share your sentiments.
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LittlebirdJenna. Free spirit, flower enthusiast, seeker of truths. Archives
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