Many of my fondest memories as a child with my mother and grandmother took place out of the window of a small, slowly creeping car as we drove by fields, stones, and structures of personal significance to the two older ladies. Few moments were as special as the first time we, along with my younger sister, stopped on the side of the road for our first view of the magnificent spring blooms. At that moment, neither my sister Shannon nor I could pronounce the name Narcissus for the beautiful daffodils (jonquils) lining the road ways. Neither did we know of the many stories that shroud these gentle blooms with popularity. What Shannon and I did know is that our mother and her mother seemed completely enamored by the sweeping flow of the delicate, pure white or yellow daffodil blooms. Both ladies meandered into the ditch to feel the petals for themselves and to pull one from the earth for each of us to hold. My sister and I, though then confounded at the sight of the women prodding through the dirt for a mere flower, now recall the story affectionately with each other and our friends.

Our grandmother, considering herself somewhat a story aficionado, regales us yearly with another story as we present her with the first blooms of the season. Sometimes new, sometimes not, Shannon and I never tire of the expression on her face as she first sees the brightly colored flowers and the smooth and gentle green stems. For just a moment our grandmother is a child again, as much a child as we ever were. The lines and age of her face fade and, even for just a split second, she’s a little girl standing with her sister and gazing in awe at the sight of her mother bending and stooping in a dirty ditch for just a simple Easter flower.

It was only when I began working for Flower Shop Network that I realized how many different flowers are called Easter flowers. Though I consider the dutch master daffodil my Easter flower, many other flowers herald the celebration of spring, purity, hope, and restoration and so are regarded as Easter flowers. Daisies, brightly colored tulips, hyacinths, crocus, potted azaleas, Easter lilies and a host of other flowers help welcome the new season.

Arguably the most popular Easter flower is the Lilium longiflorum or Easter lily. The graceful white blooms are spotted at Easter plays and spring celebrations across the nation and are widely accepted as the quintessential Easter flower. This is almost comical considering that this flower is naturally a June and July bloomer.

Easter flowers, whichever variety, probably hold a special story related to a beautiful occasion, cherished gift, or beloved friend or relative. As unique as each new spring day are the flowers that help celebrate birth in the new year, hope for a brighter morning, passing of the dreary gray season, the purity and miracle of life, and as many other beautiful emotions and memories as the pure white or yellow petals on along the roadside as viewed from a small, slowly creeping car.

Daffodils – My Grandmother’s Easter Flower.

Easter Lily know to many as the Easter flower.