Recently, my son gave me a bouquet of fresh flowers for my birthday. Or maybe it was another occasion. It doesn’t matter.

The sentiment is what matters.

He brought me flowers! And that meant a lot.

Honestly, it didn’t matter what color the flowers were, or what type of flower they were.

It was all in the gesture. The giving.

In this case, the giving involved daisies.

I’ve always liked daisies. They are typically thought of as a simple, unassuming flower, and they probably are. I think we can all agree a daisy is definitely not an orchid.

Still this group of daisies far outperformed their other floral counterparts. They stayed bright and fresh for well beyond two weeks. I don’t usually expect that from a cut flower and their longevity took me by surprise. Let’s give a shout out to daisies!

In my newfound appreciation for my daisy bouquet, I contemplated the flower and what it represents. I came to the conclusion that this rather common, ordinary if you will, flower is actually pretty remarkable - in more ways than just longevity in the vase. They are worthy of accolades as well as honest respect.

Today I give them both. And I’ll take this one step further.

My thought for today is this: Be like a daisy. They are simple and complex at the same time. I think most of us could learn a few things from this humble flower.

As was already mentioned above, daisies stay fresh and bright well beyond their “best by” date. We should all be so fortunate!

Daisies are low maintenance. They are drought tolerant, hardy perennials that come back year after year. It’s tough to murder a daisy.

Daisies are low cost. As flowers go, daisies fit within almost everyone’s budget. If orchids are filet mignon, daisies are meatloaf. But meatloaf is tasty comfort food that leaves you full and satisfied, without breaking the bank. Plus, meatloaf makes great leftover sandwiches, either hot or cold. Talk about versatility.

Daisies are resilient and adaptable. They grow just about everywhere, including roadsides and ditches as well as gardens - on every continent except Antarctica. That’s prolific.

Daisies celebrate the beauty of diversity - with more than 20,000 different species, found throughout the world. They bloom in every color of the rainbow.

Daisies are humble and unassuming. They don’t demand pomp and circumstance. In a bouquet of mixed blooms, they aren’t often the feature flower; they are often the background blossoms and they are okay with that.

Daisies are friends and partners with bees, making them beneficial to the environment. Bees love daisies and bees provide important ecological and economic benefits to the planet through their vast pollination abilities.

Daisies help us heal. For centuries, daisies have been used for their anti-inflammatory and healing properties.

Daisies are noncontroversial. They refrain from political commentary, despite what their neighboring marigolds are saying about all the newly-elected petunias.

Daisies are symbolic - they indicate purity, joy and new beginnings. I believe those are things we can all embrace wholeheartedly. To live with a pure and open-hearted outlook, to find joy in the simplicities of life and to always believe each day presents us with the opportunity for a new beginning.

Finally, daisies bring a bit of cheer to our day. They make us smile. And for that, I am grateful (and smiling).

— Jill Pertler’s column Slices of Life appears regularly in the Times. She can be reached at slicescolumn@gmail.com.