Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote a hauntingly beautiful choral work called "Flos Campi." The title translates to “Flowers of the field,” and although the music lacks lyrics, each section was inspired by biblical verses from the Song of Solomon.
The second section was inspired by the familiar line: “For behold, the winter is past; the flowers appear on the earth.”
And so they do.
As in ancient times, the flowers appear once winter is past. The reason for their blooming at this precise time is species survival. This is when insect pollinators become active.
To reproduce, flowering plants must be pollinated. Some species self-pollinate, and many, especially grasses and trees, rely on the wind. But many of the colorful wildflowers we see in summer fields are dependent on insects.
That’s why so many field flowers right now are purple and yellow... colors that native bees can see especially well. And many emit a scent. These floral fragrances are made of tiny aromatic molecules produced in specialized cells located in the petals or other floral parts and released into the air.
Different flowers release their scent at different times of day. Some perfume the air in the early morning, when native bees are most active. Others wait until afternoon or even nightfall, attracting moths and other nocturnal pollinators.
Some rare flowers are so specialized they rely on a single native bee species for pollination. These bees emerge and forage only during a brief week or two when that one flower is in bloom. Their lives are tightly synchronized — a delicate dance of mutual survival.
So yes, when winter is past, the flowers appear in the field. But it’s not random. The timing is precise. Because for flowers of the field to set seed, and for the next generation of plants to flourish, flowers appear when their pollinators are there to find them.
