Spring in full swing

Jonquils, daffodils, narcissus. What's the difference?

Read all about them here.

Whatever name you know them by, they all smell D-I-V-I-N-E.

These ones are jonquils. The daffodil's little sister, if you like. I'm getting high on their scent as they are currently hanging out on my bedside table. In the past when I've had jonquils by the bed, the scent has been so encompassing that it was the first thing my senses recognised as I stirred from sleep in the morning. I had to lift my head and look around to remind myself where the smell was coming from. 

I love them. And they're currently available in abundance. If you are taking jonquils or daffodils home, here are the things that you should know.

When you get your flowers home, recut the stems to allow them to take up fresh water efficiently. Never combine freshly cut daffodils and jonquils with other cut flowers as they emit a sap that is toxic to other flowers when newly cut. It is possible to arrange daffodils and jonquils with other flowers, just put them alone in water for 24 hours before arranging with other cut flowers. Don't re-cut the stems though. 

Daffodils mean: chivalry // high regard // faith // honesty // forgiveness // rebirth and new beginnings // immortality. 

A single daffodil is unlucky, meaning unrequited love or the foretelling of a misfortune. Medieval Europeans believed a single, drooping daffodil was an omen of death. A bunch of daffodils is a positive gesture, meaning forgiveness or appreciation of someones honesty. 

 Prince Charles is paid one daffodil annually in return for the rent of all the islands in the Isles of Scilly.

(Gray, The Secret Language of Flowers)

I'll have my nose in these all evening long.

K xx

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine

Travels, tulips and time zones

I have recently returned from a trip to New York and Washington DC. I was in the US just long enough to make my body believe it was time to wake up for the Northern Hemisphere morning when it was actually night time back home.

Then I came back, and had to reverse the process. All part and parcel of travelling.

What was special about travelling in April and May was getting to enjoy some of Americas best known tourist hot spots when they were (arguably) at their prettiest. Central Park in Spring? Yes, please. With cherry blossom on top.

We arrived to unexpected chilly temperatures. But below zero wind chill became a blessing to us. We headed in to Central Park to make the most of the dry, albeit cold, weather. We almost had the park to ourselves. No other tourists seemed keen enough to pop on a coat and get out and about. There seemed to be just locals, running and dog walking. And many Spring flowers.


I'm not sure I've seen so many daffodils in one
place before.

Or grape hyacinths.

Tulips.

And jonquils.

Conservatory Garden on the upper East side of the Park was particularly stunning. Every pathway seemed to be lined with cherry trees in blossom.

We busied ourselves taking what seemed like hundreds of photographs. None of which truly capture the incredible size and hidden treasures of Central Park. There is so much held within the park.

You could spends hours in there every day for months and still not experience everything the space has to offer.


It is such a sanctuary in the middle of a loud, bustling, forceful city.

The care taken over keeping the park beautiful, is in itself, a beautiful thing. On this particular morning, I'm beyond any doubt, the number of caretakers in the park exceeded leisure seekers. Possibly 2:1.

And the floral wonderland continued outside the park on the busy sidewalks. This (second bottom pic) street scape is 5th Avenue. Every garden bed, on every street, around every tree on the kerb was filled with tulips, daffodils, jonquils, hyacinth, and/or hydrangea. Not. Even. Exaggerating. The beautifying of the city for the Spring months was incredible.

Washington DC was similarly beautiful. All wide spaces, lush lawn, and warm sun.

I feel a little like I have brought a touch of Spring home with us. We have some stunning tulips in the bedroom this week. Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere feels a lot like Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The flower growers know this means it can be easy to trick Spring bulbs into flowering early. So, we lucky flower lovers get an early taste of Spring to keep us cheery as the weather becomes chilly.


I'll leave this post with some tulip tid bits.

Tulips continue to grow once cut.

And they grow in the direction of light, towards the sun if possible.

Tulips are not native to the Netherlands, tulips have their origin in what was Persia, now collectively the Middle East.

'Tulip' is derived from the Persian word 'tulban' which translates as turban.

Tulips have many meanings, including: True love, passionate love, innocence, forgiveness, perfect happiness, friendship, and desire. The colour of the tulip can alter meanings in subtle ways. As can how they are arranged.

The colour pink means perfect happiness. I'm very happy to have increased the levels of perfect happiness that already exists in our bedroom.

K xx

Garden grown, garden crown

It is still warm where I am. The garden is still growing and creeping and crawling and blooming.

Often we sit outside to eat, drink cups of tea, read books, and chat around a solid, weathered table.

Yesterday I went to the garden, bare footed, armed with my scissors and snipped away, collecting bright flowers and wispy vines.

And this is what I made. All from the backyard.  Have I mentioned just how much I love flower crowns?

I love flower crowns!














K xx