With the spring solstice, everything comes to life again! As soon as the Red Buds start to pop and the forsythia shows off its yellow blossoms, we all start to get spring fever! The days are longer, so we can enjoy the outdoors more, and everything starts to come to life again. The world seems fresh and alive with possibilities. 

Some of the most romantic and poetic flowers that can evoke entire scenarios and some of our most treasured memories include:

• Tulips: Won’t you please kiss my two lips? Tulips are, by and large, one of the most evocative flowers in the world. We immediately think of Dutch fields filled with millions of candy-colored blossoming bulbs—with maybe even a windmill in the background. If tulips don’t conjure images of the Netherlands and wooden clogs, what will? Did you know that tulips were once used as currency? Instead of bills and coins, tulip bulbs were traded as money!

• Hyacinths: “If thou of fortune be bereft, and in they store there be but left two loaves—sell one, and with the dole buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.” (From James Terry White’s “Not By Bread Alone”)

T.S. Eliot’s famous “hyacinth girl” in “The Waste Land” will always be a melancholy symbol of love (while, in the 19^th century Language of Flowers, hyacinths actually represented jealousy). These conical-shaped bulbous flowers with many individual blossoms resembling stars are some of our favorite spring stunners. In a variety of blues, purples, pinks, and whites, hyacinths make up for their short stature with a vivid assortment of colors. Grape hyacinths are smaller and have tiny, round blossoms (they look like a clump of grapes).

Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote of unrequited love in her poem, “Hyacinth” (“I am in love with him to whom a hyacinth is dearer than I shall ever be dear”), while Louise Glück—the 2020 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature—compared a hyacinth’s color to ancient Tyrian purple dye from Lebanon.

Hyacinths have an intense, sweet perfume and are lovely if planted in the ground, gifted to someone in a clay pot, or simply cut to make a delightful bouquet.  

• Daffodils are one of the most beloved spring-blooming flowers. Because they are such a bright, cheerful hue, they are simply known as “jonquils” by many (stemming from the French “jocund,” which simply means yellow). Wordsworth made their beauty immortal with his naturalist poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” We surely know Easter is on its way when we see daffodils blooming; for this, they are also called simply “Easter flowers.” 
• Snowdrops were beautifully summed up by the great Romantic poet William Wordsworth in his “To a Snowdrop”: “Chaste snowdrop, venturous harbinger of spring, and pensive monitor of fleeting years.” Very close to the ground and small, snowdrops are elegant, unassuming flowers that bloom very early on in the spring season.

• Hellebores are perennial plants in the family “Ranunculaceae” that love the shade and moist soil. They thrive and spread when planted beneath a tree. A unique flower, they grow in unexpected colors such as deep purple—nearly black, mauve, purple, and green. A plant with green petals is pretty unique!  There are paler varieties such as cream, white, speckled, and almost every shade of purple. In the 19^th Century Language of Flowers, they represented delirium.
• Crocuses: Emily Dickinson wrote of the crocus as a beacon of hope and new beginnings: “The feet of people walking home with gayer sandals go–the crocus–till she rises, the vassal of the snow.” The crocus is, after all, one of the very first spring bloomers. Very low to the ground, one can usually see splashes of purple, yellow, or blue springing up from the thawing ground as early as February in some places.

• To Dye For: For tulips, this mixed array is a spring rainbow.
• Very Bunny Day: Lisianthus in playful pink and white pastels makes for the perfect Easter offering.
• The Hunting We Will Go arrangement is reminiscent of an Easter egg hunt in a meadow or forest. It screams “cottage core” and is a must-give gift for any loved one or friend this spring. It also makes for the perfect whimsical centerpiece for any gathering or party (with lisianthus, dill flower, pink roses, and alstroemeria). 
• Glory of Easter: celebrate with purple irises, carnations, bright orange tulips, and daisies. 
• Easter Blessings—With yellow carnations, green mums, and baby’s breath—this bouquet is fresh, vibrant, and joyful (perfect for Easter). 
• So Egg-cited: Tulips, hydrangea, and lily-of-the-valley combine to create the most exciting statement bouquet.