I love Daffodils! For me they are a sign that Winter is gone…the sap is rising…and the garden is springing into life again. The power of the Sun is growing daily and soon we shall have longer evenings. The joy of a new season is upon us.
Historically the Daffodil has been associated with bad luck…especially in matters of poultry rearing. It was said that if a single flower was picked and brought indoors…then only a single chick would emerge from a clutch of eggs.
Narcissus…another name for Daffodils…meaning “narcissism” which comes from “narke”…the Ancient Greek word for deep sleep, stupor or numbness. Narke is of course also the root of the word “narcotic. The name is a reference to a toxic paralyzing alkaloid contained within the bulbs.
“Daffodils that come before the Swallow dares, and takes the winds of March with beauty.” William Shakespeare
fromacountrycottage 
Daffodils are bad luck?! That seems so wrong! They mean so many good things in my mind!
For me too! Does’nt seem right to have bad luck attached to them.
How sad and strange that daffodils should ever have been associated with anything other than happiness and joy. Maybe if I woke up to find all my chickens in a deep sleep I might feel differently. (If I had chickens!)
That seems so wrong, doesn’t it? I embrace the smiling faces of daffodils!
Like the other commenters, I didn’t realise that daffodils were associated with bad luck… just as well we weren’t planning to raise any hens from eggs!
Happy little sunshines on stalks.
Jane x
Interesting information – I wonder if ‘Narcissus’ is also connected to ‘narcissist?
Yikes….I did not know this. I do love them still.
Our smart gophers know about the poison in daffodil bulbs. They will eat any other flower bulbs they find (which is why I put them in containers), but they won’t eat the daffodil bulbs. They WILL move them, however, so it is common to find last year’s bulbs blooming all over the yard.
Also, there is a fable about a young man so handsome, he spent all his time looking in a pond at his reflection. His name was Narcissus, and is why we call someone who is self-involved a narcissist. I thought the flower was named after him, so the information about narke is new. Thank you, Bridget!