Officially Spring is around the corner! This year the spring equinox is on Sunday, March 20th!
Here in northern Nevada this time of year
can be tricky, but I’m celebrating the glimpses we are having and have
officially placed myself on “daffodil watch”.
What is daffodil watch?
That is when, as you drive around, you keep your eyes peeled for
daffodils and when you see one, you point and shout with great exuberant joy,
“daffodil!!!!”. This is what we do in
our family because daffodils are my favorite flower and they only last for a
short while. Seeing a daffodil brings me
so much joy, I just can’t help but squeal with excitement, respect and awe of
nature.
Photo from: atmywindow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Classic-Yellow-Daffodil1.png
The physical beauty of the daffodil delights me, but the
science behind the re-appearance year after year is what really makes me say,
“yea nature!”. The daffodil is in the
genus Narcissus and is part of the
Amaryllis family. There are many
varieties of daffodils due to selective breeding, but all seem to announce the
beginning of spring. The cool thing
about daffodils is that they are planted in the fall, as a bulb, and bust out in spring, even through snow!
What is bulb? A bulb
is a ‘storage organ’[2] that is a stem made of
layers of modified leaves that store nutrients.
Roots will emerge out of the bottom of the bulb when conditions are
right, and new growth will emerge from the top.
Bulbs are considered dormant,
which means temporarily inactive. They
are not dead! Dormant is not dead! Plant bulbs are only one example of the many
living things that utilize dormancy to overcome environmental stress or gather
energy for future growth.
Figure
from: www.townsendlandscape.com
After enough energy has been gathered, and the
environmental conditions are correct (sunlight, temperature, and moisture) we
will witness the new growth as it emerges from the ground. All that time underground, in the dark and
cold, important biological processes
were occurring, we just couldn’t see them! But WOW!
What a display we get to observe.
The bright colors and the sleek leaf-less stem is a sight to
behold! Then, as the foliage begins to
yellow and fade, the bulb begins to gather energy for the next season, and
returns to dormancy once more.
When we see a daffodil, we are witnessing the evidence of a
beautiful cycle in nature. One that, as
humans, we might be wise to learn from and begin to follow. There is time for gathering energy and time
for display. Nature has an amazing way
of balancing rest and growth.
This spring, as you drive around, have fun with daffodil
watch! I hope you find joy in the
beautiful evidence of the awesomeness of nature!!
-Brandolyn Thran
[1]
The Farmers Almanac. Electronically
accesses 3/6/2020 at https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-spring-vernal-equinox.
[2]
Hollandbulbfarms.com
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