FRESH PICK ASTERACEAE BELLIS.

Byline: Barbara De Witt  Staff Writer

``Spring hasn't sprung until you can set your foot on 12 daisies.''

It's an old English saying, but serves as a testimony to the enduring - and endearing - power of one of the most celebrated flowers in history.

The little white-petaled flower with a bright yellow center that closes up at night and opens again in the morning sun long has been associated with lovers. Little girls pick their petals, saying ``He loves me, he loves me not,'' while brides often choose them for their bouquet. And for some unknown reason, it's a favorite name for pet dogs.

Daisies have been found in ancient ceramics in Egypt, in hairpin designs in a Minoan palace and there are reports that the Assyrians were among the first to use crushed daisies for eye problems and gray hair.

In Anglo-Saxon times, the daisy was still used for medicinal purposes for wounds and disease such as small pox and plague. The flower was also used in heraldry on rings worn by kings and queens, which you can learn more about by visiting the S.F. Heart Web site, www.sfheart.com/daisy.html.

Even Hans Christian Andersen used a simple daisy that grew along the roadside as the central character in one his stories, saying how happy the little flower was that a bird sang to it rather than the fancier flowers in the garden. It ends with the bird dying and the flower tossed aside by children.

Daisies also figure in a Celtic legend. According to the story, the spirts of children who die in childbirth scatter daisies on the earth to cheer their sorrowful parents.

VARIETIES: Daisies are the world's largest family of flowering plants, says John Sutton in his new book, ``The Plantfinder's Guide to Daisies'' (Timber Press; $34.95), and include the leafy green shrublike perennials classic daisies, mums (also called marguerites), marigolds, thistles, sunflowers, asters, dusty millers and the exotic dahlias, as well as the trendy saucer-size gerbera daisies. Sutton describes daisies as a good cutting flower, easy to grow and offered in numerous colors such as white, pink, yellow and purple as well as silver and gold.

GETTING STARTED: Sow the seeds in autumn or buy bedding plants at nurseries now. They require moist soil and partial-to-full sun. Since some varieties grow quite large, plan ahead before planting.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE: Except for frequent watering in spring and summer they're easy to care for and the shrub will stay green year 'round in warm climates. Some types, such as the yellow daisies, can grow into bushes that will need to be cut back. Propagation is by seed or physical division.

Other family members, such as marigolds, need the dead heads pinched off regularly and protected from overhead sprinklers, which can break their stems. Mums are among the sturdiest in the family and come in the biggest selection of colors and petal designs.

LANDSCAPING TIPS: Although they grow wild in meadows, vacant lots, and alongside highways, white-petaled daisies are best used as borders or edges for deep flower beds. Others should be placed according to the variety you choose: short marigolds need to be up front, while mums or marguerites and dusty millers grow to a medium height, and yellow daisies and sunflower plants are the giants. Dahlia plants, which are grown from tuberous roots, range from 1 to 7 feet tall, depending on the type, and the tallest make good hedges, screens and fillers among shrubs, while the smaller types are used in decorative pots.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Consult your nurseryman, local garden clubs, or look up ``daisy - flower'' on your computer search engine. Also consult ``Western Garden Book'' (Sunset; $32.95) under asterisus as well as marguerite, marigold and dahlia.

Barbara De Witt, [phone]

barbara.dewitt(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Daisy

Asteraceae bellis