In My Vicarage Garden 



they did not last very long. It was natural to 

 suppose that this short life of the flowers was owing 

 to the powerful sunshine that we had at that time ; 

 but I cannot help thinking that, though the flowers 

 did not open, the work which the flower has to do 

 was not altogether delayed, and that the formation 

 of seed was to some extent going on, so that 

 when the flowers fully expanded their work was 

 half done, and there was nothing left to be done 

 by them but the finishing the work and then 

 passing away. It is known that this is the case 

 with the high Alpines ; their work of perfecting 

 their seeds must be finished before a given time : 

 and if owing to a late melting of the snow the 

 flowers are late, yet the seeds are not proportionally 

 late, and are perfected in good time. I do not 

 say that this is the case with all high Alpines, but 

 it certainly is with some ; and I have little doubt 

 that it is so with many other plants and was so 

 with the narcissi this year. There is no need to 

 recommend daffodils to English gardeners ; they 

 are everybody's flowers, and have been so for 

 generations ; but I suppose they were never grown 

 to the extent they are now. And for those who 

 like to study their history there is much interest. 

 It is very doubtful whether our daffodils are the 

 narcissus of Homer and Theocritus ; they may be, 

 and it is pleasant to think that they are ; and 

 if they knew the plant at all it is probable that 

 they knew the Tazetta daffodils. Theophrastus 

 describes a narcissus, but as it had green flowers 



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