First Sign of Spring...the Daffodils!

Most people in the south will agree that one of the first signs of spring is the Daffodil.  
  My mother referred to them as Jonquils, but I just call them Buttercups!  They are all members of the Narcissus family and, yes, I'm sure there is a botanical difference, but for my post today...that doesn't matter!  
Let's just celebrate the fact that their fresh smiling faces are here now, warning us that spring is on the way!

Having just visited Gibbs Gardens in north Georgia, I had to paint a happy Buttercup face!  I love painting flowers, and this one is certainly no exception!  How happy can a flower be?

The beauty of Gibbs Gardens, a world class garden right here in Georgia, is amazing and I highly recommend it!  The Daffodil Festival displays over 20 million blooming daffodils and continues through the middle of April! 

To commemorate the Daffodil season, I found this pretty poem by William Wordsworth, 
and I love his descriptive words. 

I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

  A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

  And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

  Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

  Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

  In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

  In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

  Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills, 

And dances with the daffodils.

Keep a smile on your face and a buttercup in your memory!

See you next Watercolor Wednesday!     Carole