Daisy Fresh

The daisy, birth flower for the month of April, has long been celebrated in art and poetry for its simple beauty. Poets like Chaucer, Phoebe Cary and James Montgomery used the flower to symbolically express devotion. Hairpins decorated with daisies have been found in ancient ruins dating back 4,000 years. A European native, the daisy is widely naturalized in North and South America. While its most recognizable form—white petals and a golden yellow center with grassy-green stem and leaves—belongs to the family "Bellis perennis", its common name comes from the term "day's eye," a reference to the fact that daisy blooms are only open during the day and close up at night.

There is a myth that tells of the daisy's creation when a nymph transformed herself into a charming but unassuming wildflower to escape unwanted attention. Through the centuries, daisies came to be associated with innocence, childlike joy and playfulness. No other flower captures the essence of spring’s happy-go-lucky, forever-young attitude like the daisy. Daisies have long been associated with love. The "she loves me, she loves me not" method of pulling petals from a flower was first used with the daisy to tell love's fortune. Daisies are customarily given in bouquets to new mothers as a way to celebrate the birth of their baby. Did you, as a child, make "daisy chains" to wear on your wrists and in your hair?

Happy birthday, April babies!

Inspired by a meadow filled with flowers on a blue-sky day, here is a daisy chain of ten fresh-as-a-daisy spaces just for you:

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If I had a little blond dachshund, I would name her Daisy and buy her a soft blue settee. We would sit side by side. I would sip tea and read poetry aloud. She would nap quietly, dreaming of sunshine and endless green meadows.

See, the grass is full of stars,
Fallen in their brightness;
Hearts they have of shining gold,
Rays of shining whiteness.

Buttercups have honeyed hearts,
Bees they love the clover,
But I love the daisies' dance
All the meadow over.

FROM "DAISY TIME" BY MARJORIE PICKTHALL

Top photo by Baslee Troutman (isn't it gorgeous?). Other daisies via stock photo sources, photographers unknown. All interior photos via marthastewart.com. Daisy facts via teleflora.com, birthfloersguide.com and life123.com