Sunny Daffodils and Cheery Tulips

      If people were daffodils they'd be happy all the time. there isn't a room in your house, even the darkest, that won't become brighter and more cheerful with a dozen yellow daffodils in a vase.

      There are many kinds of daffodils from which to choose. Yellow ones, white ones with yellow or orange trumpets, large daffodils or tiny ones.
Tulips come in even more shapes and colors, of course, there's the traditional cup shape that everyone associates with the tulip. And there are other interesting and unusual-looking tulips with pointed and frilled petals. Some tulips are one color. Others are streaked with two or even three colors.

      There are so many different kinds of tulips, in fact, that your most difficult decision is narrowing down to which ones you want to take home first.
When selecting tulips and daffodils, don't be tempted to buy flowers that are fully open. You want them to be in the bud stage - so that you can enjoy watching them come into full bloom. And, from a practical point of view, the flowers bought in the bud stage last much longer.

      When you get tulips and daffodils home they must be "hardened". That is a technical, florist's term. You see, flowers that have been out of water even for a short while may get a bit limp. By hardening them you are restoring their strength.
To do this, cut a quarter-inch from each stem and wrap the flowers - including their leaves - in wax paper. Then place them in six to eight inches of warm water for about two hours.  
Fresh flowers, by the way, retain their beauty longer in tepid water to which a floral conditioner has been added. And, please, keep them away from sun, drafts, and heaters. Tulips and daffodils are particularly sensitive to heat and chills.

      These bright, beautiful, brilliantly colored flowers are such a joy. We can't think of a better cure for spring fever. Can you?