A few years ago I planted twenty daffodils in my little forest area behind the house. They multiplied, and this year there were about fifty of them nodding their pretty heads in the wind. Their bright yellow colour gave light to a shady place.


A couple of nights we have had rain and not any drizzle but hard merciless rain. Today I went to see what had happened to the daffodils.


Their stems had grown to be really long, and they were all lying against each other for support. Some were broken. Others looked tall and strong enough, but oh no! After a closer look some of them were broken too.


I decided to pick them all, just in case it should rain again. Moreover, I love their fragrance, and what luxury it would be to have so many of them inside the living-room.


They would probably need two vases. One for the tall and healthy, one for the weak and broken. So I thought. But after a while I realised that so many of the daffodils had suffered injuries. There would NOT be enough strong and healthy ones, nor would they look nice in that vase.


I cut all the flowers to different lengths and arranged them all together in the same vase. Now there were no empty spaces. The whole vase was filled with yellow faces, happy, beautiful ones. All together they were making the arrangement complete.


There they are now. On the glass-table spreading fragrance reminding us of the loveliness of spring here in the north. And how important it is to appreciate diversity in all things that are good and true and beautiful, whether it be daffodils or mankind.



 ©Catharina Kangas

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