Roseville Jonquils and Daffodil Days

Jonquil is an old fashioned name to me and daffodil a more modern term, but whatever you call them, these sprightly flowers are sure to make you smile. The name jonquil stems from the Spanish word for rush referring to the rush like leaves of this plant in the Narcissus genus. Something I didn't know is the jonquil species has the strongest oil for use in perfumes and has been cultivated in France since the 18th century.

I found this vase in California some years ago immediately recognizing the color, shape, and decoration as Roseville Pottery. Although it does not have the Roseville stamp, many Roseville pots do not, this is most certainly one of theirs. I love how the leaves wrap around to the bottom. The vase was made in the 1930s and is called Jonquils after the floral decoration. Roseville Pottery was started in the 1890s in Roseville, Ohio by J.F. Weaver. Roseville Pottery produced decorative art pottery and utilitarian stoneware until the 1950s. Roseville Pottery is collected by many folks. A record was set in 2007 for a piece of decorative art pottery designed by Fredrick Hurten Rhead which sold for $516,000.

Daffodils are native to the Mediterranean region, Africa and Europe but they have spread and naturalized around most of the world. Nowadays there are so many hybridized species it's hard to keep them all straight. When we lived in Arkansas daffodils sprouted up all over our farm. Gardeners there told us not to mow the leaves down for six weeks so enough energy was sent to the bulb so they'd bloom again the next year. Flower images were borrowed from the net.

Many cancer societies around the world use the daffodil as a symbol for cancer awareness and for fund raising efforts. Daffodil Days was first implemented in Toronto in 1957 by the Canadian Cancer Society. Daffodils are grown commercially in Wales to produce galantamine, a drug used to combat Alzheimers. For a visual treat of daffodils displayed in contemporary pots check Catherine White's blog post daffodil days. Then for the pièce de résistance please go to this Catherine Kunst blog for her post on Daffodil Days for an inspiring read for any day. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.