Spring . . .

. . . to me is daffodils - and lots of them, splashing everywhere with glorious colour and brightness. They never fail - they always appear. They are generous and happy and full of joy. 

Alright they are not subtle, but I actually think that's the point. They will not be ignored, except perhaps because they are ubiquitous and we are liable to take them for granted. 

A great place to see them is Acorn Bank, not only because there are masses of them beneath the trees - as far as the eye can see, but also because they are the more subtle ones - the wild ones. These are the ones Wordsworth saw. Knottman2 referred to them recently and gave the proper name. I just know them as Lent Lilies or Wild Daffodils. They have pale lemon petals and a golden trumpet. They are smaller and more delicate than the cultivated ones and absolutely beautiful, especially when in a mass like this. 

Dorothy Una Ratcliffe owned Acorn Bank for a while, having bought it in 1934, then in 1950 she donated the whole estate to the National Trust. She was a writer and traveller and art collector. She said she owned a lot of lovely things, but what she valued most were the daffodils. She called her autobiography - The Lady of a Million Daffodils. 

If you look carefully you might spy a little fairy door. These still keep appearing. I had not seen this one before.