A striking flower, so welcome in the early spring to cheer us up and remind us of the long sunny days still to come. Also known as the Lent lily, the daffodil takes its name from the Dutch de affodil or asphodel, the flower which covered the Elysian Fields (Heaven) in Greek myth. The daffodil is closely related to the sweet-scented narcissus, its official botanical name.

Daffodils were known to the Egyptians who used them in funeral wreaths. The Greeks loved the heavily-scented varieties and believed that breathing in the fragrance could send you into a drug-induced stupor! The Romans used the flowers to make perfume and in floral headdresses for weddings and celebrations. Curiously, they also believed the sap could heal wounds, though actually it is an irritant to the skin, containing crystals of calcium oxalate. The Arabs, meanwhile, favoured rubbing the sap into their heads as a cure for baldness! Gerard, the famous 16th century English herbalist, suggested using extractions of the sap to treat a variety of conditions from coughs to acne – but this is not advised!

Daffodils were known in English gardens by the 12th century and had migrated to America by the 18th century. Thomas Jefferson is known to have planted daffodils alongside the paths on his estate at Monticello in the 1730s.

Daffodil Fairy is caught on a typical March day, when the daffodils are set nodding and dancing in the wind.