But this Saturday, we all later agreed, was the first day of summer: the smell of plowed fields and first-cut grass, the river flushed by rains, its banks covered with ferns and May apples and early wild flowers, dame's rocket and white trillium.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Gone Tomorrow'

Spring is peak season, but many of these flowers continue to be available through early fall.

WSJ: Petal Pushers: Chefs Pick Edible Flowers

From late March to early June, the surrounding meadows are splashed with colour, as wild flowers run riot.

BBC: Best city for spring 2011: Lucca, Italy

After all, Flowers did help rehabilitate a Georgia financial firm, Enstar , which had gone into bankruptcy in the early 1990s.

FORBES: The Vultures Are Circling