When I lived in Brisbane, daylillies were the harbingers of Spring; here in Portland, it's daffodils. Also cherry trees, tulips, magnolias, camelias, pansies and several flowers I don't yet know the names of. Portland is a good place to live if you like flowers. (Or if you don't.)

This is an old trick, but I never tire of it. What you do is shoot a pale flower against a dark background (the foliage will usually do), and expose for the highlights or even one stop over. Then simply process the print or digital negative so that the background is black.