There are many special ways to celebrate a birthday. Throughout history up until now, people have taken certain objects and associated them with celebrations during certain months and seasons, especially revolving around birthdays. Over time, this meaning and associations grew stronger and more expansive like birthstones, zodiac signs, and also our topic today, Birth month FLOWERS!
Explore the world of these flowers with us, and we hope you’ll be inspired to grab some of your own birthday flower, or a special bouquet for a loved one’s birthday.
History of Birth Flowers
Your specific birth flower signifies the month you were born, and some believe each flower contains historic and spiritual symbolism that can hold special meaning and predictions in regards to your life or personality.
It is thought that birth month flowers originated in Roman times, when birthday celebrations first began. These early celebrations included decorating the altars of Roman gods with flowers, and giving flowers as birthday gifts. Further evolving in the eighteenth century when the ideas of meanings behind flowers was introduced in England by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. In the time since, the symbolism and meaning behind flowers and especially birth flowers has evolved a lot.
Birth Flower Guide
Here is a guide to the Birth Flowers for each month, and the meanings associated with each. The meaning behind a flower can change depending on the location around the world, flower color, and even numbers of flowers paired together. Click the links on the flower names to get a more complete guide to that specific flower.
January- Carnation and Snowdrop
Carnations and Snowdrops are both beautiful blooms that thrive in the later months of winter, which make them both an ideal January Birth Flower.
Carnations can symbolize luck, admiration and affection, which also makes it a great flower to give as a gift for someone with a January birthday.
Snowdrops are thought to symbolize hope and rebirth, to add some warm thoughts and wishes to your cold winter months.
These flowers go great together in a winter themed arrangement, wreath, or tabletop decoration.
February- Violet and Primrose
Though roses are generally most popular in February, the Violet is the official birth flower of February. This purple-hued bloom is a symbol of modesty, faithfulness and virtue.
Another flower often cited as February’s birth flower is the primrose, a pale yellow perennial with European origins. They are edible flowers that can add a pop of color to your favorite treat (or birthday cupcake)! Primroses symbolize young love, so they are a great gift for a significant other.
March- Daffodil
With March comes spring, and the promise of beautiful blooms and gorgeous varieties. The bright yellow hues of Daffodils symbolize the birth flower of March, and symbolize New beginnings, rebirth, and joy.
April – Daisy
The word ‘daisy’ originates from Anglo Saxon, translated as ‘day’s eye’ due to the flower’s habit of opening at dawn.
The daisy symbolises innocence and purity, and usually has a particular meaning of cheerfulness.
The color and size varieties of Daisies can make it easy to add to any gift or arrangement for your loved one with an April birthday.
May- Lily of the Valley, Hawthorne
The hawthorn flower is unique. It’s a small white or pink flower that is typically seen blooming on a plant or bush instead of in a bouquet.Its other name, “crataegus,” derives from the Greek words kratos for “strength” and akis for “sharp,” thanks to its thorns. The Mayflower ship was named after hawthorn for its symbolism of hope and love.
Lily of the Valley is a groundcover plant that has dainty, bell shaped flowers. This springtime flower is also known as the May lily or French “muguet des bois” and represents sweetness and purity.
June- Rose and Honeysuckle
Often called “The Queen of Flowers” , the rose holds particular meaning and relevance in our world, especially around the united states. The staple flower of Valentines day, the most commonly grown and sold flower around the world, and the National Flower of the united states, it’s impossible to go throughout your day without seeing a wide variety of beautiful roses.
Roses are unique in the fact that the meaning of the flower can change greatly depending on the circumstances, color of the flower, and even how many you include in the bundle.
The other June flower the Honeysuckle, with its tubular flowers, are magnets for hummingbirds and represents happiness and positive energy. Both of these flowers are a beautiful addition to your home or garden in spring and early summer.
July- Larkspur and Water Lily
The Larkspur is a species of Delphinium, and dubbed as the official birth flower of july, is a beautiful summer thriving plant with tall flower spikes typically in shades of pink, white, and lavender.
The water lily, or also known as the lotus flower, is also considered a birth flower of July. Water lilies grow completely within water, with their blossoms flourishing on top of or above the water’s surface. They typically grow to suit the size of the area in which they are placed, spreading their leaves across the surface of the water and filling it with color. They represent joy and friendship, and a pure open heart. These come in a variety of colors that all hold different specific meanings, and can be a beautiful addition to a backyard pond.
August- Gladiolus, Poppy
Both of these flowers thrive in the dead of summer, with bright colorful blooms, and both symbolize remembrance. These are paired together to be the birth flowers of august. People born in this month are thought to be honest and faithful, with great integrity.
September- Aster, Morning Glory
Aster is a member of the Daisy family, and sometimes called Starworts or frost flowers. They have a star shaped head and come in varieties of white, lilac, read and pink colors. This flower is seen as a powerful symbol of love and wisdom
The Morning glory flower is aptly named, as a flower that opens it’s beautiful blooms in the morning, and closes them again as the sun falls. They come in a variety of beautiful colors, with heart shaped leaves around the beautiful trumpet shaped blooms. The meaning of this flower also meshes well with the aster, as morning glory is a symbol of love and affection.
and as summer turns into fall, these both turn into some of the most beautiful and vibrant blooms around. This makes both Aster and morning glory ideal and meaningful birth flowers for September.
October- Marigold and Cosmos
These two flowers come in with a bang to represent October. Representing Creativity, passion, and courage the Marigold comes in bright colors of orange and gold, with round, ruffled flower blooms.
The name “cosmos” comes from the Greek word kosmos, referring to the order and harmony of the universe. The flower cosmos represents order, peace, and serenity. The duality of the petals and their perfect symmetry is a clear symbol of balance, bringing to mind the scales of Libra, the astrological sign for October babies born before the 23rd.
November – Chrysanthemum and Peony
As the seasons get colder, the Chrysanthememum or simply called “mums” are the last pop of color in a seasonal garden. They have big, bright blooms that come in a variety of colors arnd are a staple in any fall garden. Chrysanthemums symbolize friendship, joy, happiness and honor. Like the rose, Since mums come in so many colors, their meaning can differ. Depending on the color.
Similar to the Chrysanthemum, peonies represent honor, compassion, happiness and good fortune. Paeonia officinalis is the scientific name of this large and round showy flower. It can come in shades of pink, yellow, red, white, and purple. The flower originated in Asia, America, and Europe but was popularly cultivated in China for over 2,000 years.
December- Narcissus and Holly
To go along with the holidays, it makes sense that Narcissus and Holly would be the festive flowers to represent the December Birth Month flowers.
While both of these flowers are very different, they both bloom in the winter time, and both are fairly easy to force into bloom if needed.
There are many varieties of holly, such as winterberry and English holly, but all are known for their unique green spiky leaves and red berries.
Holly as a birth flower symbolizes a wish for domestic happiness, it has been used across cultures and over many centuries as a form of protection from evil spirits, whether sprigs were given as a gift or if a branch was used as a walking stick.
the paperwhite is a beautifully scented, lovely white bloom that comes from the Narcissus genus, which daffodils also come from. The paperwhite as a birth flower is believed to mean that you want your loved ones to stay just the way they are, and it also means good wishes and respect.
Learn more about these birth flowers Here.
As you can see, there is a lot of meaning behind birthdays, cultures, flowers and decorations! Thank you for taking this journey with us, and if you want to purchase a decoration for yourself, or a gift for the loved one, search your favorite flower on our website homepage to see what we have created for you! If you don’t find what you need, contact us for a special order.
