Miniature Daffodils

 The Smithsonian's Ripley Garden has been cleared out and tidied up in anticipation of the late spring blooming season. Tiny daffodils have opened in the sunnier spots. Backlit in the sunshine, with bright petals as thin as a fine porcelain teacup, they show every ridge and vein. In this early spring garden these daffodils are the equivalent of puppies or kittens; five out of six groups of tourists who wandered through the garden declared them to be "cute."