Smell and memory are intimately linked.With the help of my Lady Gardener Friends (from now on known as LGFs) I have successfully identified a flower whose scent I recall from my early youth. The bulbs that I purchased in the autumn are now in flower and they are, indeed, the flower (and scent) that I strongly recall.
They are Narcissus "Pheasant's Eye" which has the botanical name of Narcissus poeticus.
My thanks goes to Patrick here who tells me that "Many classical poets and artists apparently described Narcissus poeticus flowers as having a pale skin and a burning heart and this may be why Linnaeus named it "the poet's narcissus". I think a better explanation is that Linnaeus was referring to the poet Ovid who wrote of Narcissus in his Metamorphoses: nusquam corpus erat; croceum pro corpore florem/ inveniunt foliis medium congentibus albis (III, 509-10) - his body was nowhere; instead (the naiads and dryads) find a flower, its yellow centre surrounded by white petals."
This is the cover of a very beautiful, old copy of sheet music, Narcissus, from the piano cycle Water Scenes Op. 13 no. 4 by Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901), an American gentleman who wrote this piece in 1891. It could be described as a rather sentimental parlour piece. I love it!
My thanks goes to Patrick here who tells me that "Many classical poets and artists apparently described Narcissus poeticus flowers as having a pale skin and a burning heart and this may be why Linnaeus named it "the poet's narcissus". I think a better explanation is that Linnaeus was referring to the poet Ovid who wrote of Narcissus in his Metamorphoses: nusquam corpus erat; croceum pro corpore florem/ inveniunt foliis medium congentibus albis (III, 509-10) - his body was nowhere; instead (the naiads and dryads) find a flower, its yellow centre surrounded by white petals."
This is the cover of a very beautiful, old copy of sheet music, Narcissus, from the piano cycle Water Scenes Op. 13 no. 4 by Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901), an American gentleman who wrote this piece in 1891. It could be described as a rather sentimental parlour piece. I love it!
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