The Joy of Daffodils

Celebrating the Simple Joy of the Daffodil

Nicknamed Bell Rose, Lent Lily, and the fabulously brilliant ‘Daffadowndilly’ by some, few things signify the arrival of spring quite as beautifully as the Daffodil. Daffodils bring with them a sense of joy, optimism, and happiness as they pop up all over the wildlands and village greens of the UK in early March. The cheerful appearance of this British wildflower heralds the end of the long winter, their golden trumpets providing a fanfare to celebrate the warmer, sunnier months to come.

Despite the papery fragile appearance of its outer petals, the simple Daffodil is a symbol of strength and tenacity. Clusters of Daffodil bulbs have been known to survive in the ground for generations, their yellow flowers appearing just in time for Spring decade after decade. Even if flowering season coincides with enough snow or frost to flatten their stems, Daffodils pick themselves up again as soon as temperatures rise. When designing Daffodil Locket, I loved the idea that this strong sense of character and a powerful metaphor for life could be carried through this piece when gifted to a loved one.

Daffodils Across the UK and Beyond

Daffodils prefer a temperate climate to grow which is why there is such an abundance of them here in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly where warmer temperatures are enjoyed all year round. In fact, around 80% of the world’s Daffodils are grown here in the Duchy and a staggering 900 million stems are grown in Cornwall every year!

Fentogallan Flower Farm on the Fal estuary is not far from my studio in Truro. The family has been farming this land for over 130 years and now grows over 400 varieties of Daffodil across 200 acres of beautiful Cornish countryside. Their Cornish Daffodils are sold across the UK and they also ship to the United States, so do check them out if you’d like a little bit of Cornish sunshine in your home.

In Wales, the Daffodil is celebrated as the countries national flower and traditionally worn on St David’s Day – the day Wales celebrates its patron saint on 1st March. With the exception perhaps of the Sunflower, few flowers seem to radiate such sunshine and positivity as the Daffodil. With the timely arrival of these joyous blooms after a long winter, Daffodils are also widely celebrated as a symbol of new beginnings and further afield in China, the Daffodil has become the symbol flower of the Chinese Lunar new year. Here, it’s believed that if the flower blooms during the Spring festival then it will bring wealth and good fortune for the year ahead.

The Beauty of Daffodil Jewellery 

Arguably the most important Daffodil jewellery that first comes to mind is the Marie Curie pin – a symbol used by the charity who’s incredible work helps provide vital end of life and palliative care, at home and in their hospices. Each Spring in the UK, cheerful volunteers can be found walking the streets dressed in yellow selling Daffodil pins to raise money and awareness. You can support the charity all year round by buying their Daffodil pins and other Daffodil gifts on their online shop.

When gifting Daffodil jewellery, this flower is the perfect gift for a March birthday, when the flowers are in full bloom. Traditionally, Daffodils are also given for those celebrating a 10th wedding anniversary. With cut flowers being a go-to wedding anniversary gift, I love the idea that by giving my Daffodil Locket, the celebration of this romantic milestone is marked in a way that lasts a lifetime.

Daffodil Locket Raffle for the Earthquake Appeal

Throughout March 2023 I ran a raffle to raise money for the Turkey/Syria Earthquake appeal. Rather than making a single donation, I wanted to use my work to try to raise a bit more and hundreds of you donated to my Just Giving page for a chance to win in. Entry was just £10 and the total raised came to a fantastic £4,734. The locket was my donation so every penny that was donated went straight to the Disasters Emergency committee and I’m so pleased we were able to raise this much together.

The raffle ended on Monday 3rd April 2023 when a lucky winner was picked at random – Congratulations to Laura Kjelland in California and a huge thank you to everyone who donated, however much you were able to give.

I chose the Daffodil Locket for this raffle due to its warm spirit and sense of hope, something beautifully captured in this poem by A.A. Milne –

Daffadowndilly

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”.

 

Thanks so much for reading, and for any support you are able to give to the raffle.

With love

Victoria x