Hey Baby, What’s Your Birth Flower? 
Every month has birthstones, but did you know that each month also has birth flowers ? How did this come to be?
There are many legends about the history of birth flowers, and the consensus seems to be that they
originated during ancient Greece. The altars of the twelve Greek gods were decorated with flowers in honor of their birthdays. Each god was believed to have a distinct personality as well as a favorite flower so these plants became imbued with meaning and served as living connections to the gods.
Over the years, folklore has surrounded the significance of various flowers and plants. Although they were originally used as a decoration, flowers came to be used as symbolic gifts associated with specific meanings and a month. People all over the world give flowers to celebrate special occasions. Most months have a couple of birth flowers to choose from and they are usually received in delight as beautiful expressions of caring.
When selecting flowers, we are often swayed by their coloration and aroma; including flowers with symbolic meaning makes the bouquet more sentimental. Most florists are familiar with the significance of each flower and sometimes list them in categories.
We’ve created a birth flower chart for your reference and enjoyment.
April Birth Flowers: Daisy
Innocence, Secrecy, I’ll Never Tell, Purity, Love, Cheerfulness, Youthfulness, Bringer of Good Fortune, Loyalty
Daisies are highly popular flowers with a long and rich history. Cultures around the world have legends associated with the daisy and they have been found in stone carvings going back to 3000 BC.
The name daisy may be explained by its natural behavior; the whole head of the flower closes up at night and opens up again in the morning. Its button-like center, a densely packed cluster of many florets could be that of as a ‘days eye’. Some say the word daisy comes from the Greek translation meaning pearl because when millions of daisies are seen in an open field, they can look like pearls.
A kaleidoscope pattern of daisies, April’s birth flower.
The daisy flower captures the essence of Spring with its happy-go-lucky, forever-young attitude and is thought to bring good fortune. Remember playing the game where you pluck the petals and ask a question? He loves me, he loves me not….. The daisy is thought of as the flower of love that conquers all due to its association with April and the goddesses of Love, Venus and Aphrodite. There is a story in Roman mythology of a nymph who transformed herself into a daisy to escape unwanted attention from one of the gods; giving daisies the added meaning of innocence. In Victorian times, daisies stood for loyalty and trust. The daisy is also historically given between friends with an intention to keep a secret hence the interpretation of, “I’ll never tell”.
Along with their rich symbolic meanings, daisies are ubiquitous and versatile. They propagate easily, make up nearly ten percent of all flowering plants on earth and are found on every continent except for Antarctica. Additionally they have edible leaves and medicinal healing properties. They are one of the most popular flowers in the world.
April Birth Flowers: Sweet Pea
Blissful Pleasure, Delicate Pleasure, Good-bye, Gratitude
Sweet Pea Flowers photo: newcoventgardenmarket.com
The lovely sweet pea is a climbing garden plant known as the “Queen of the Annuals”. This fragrant flower can be traced back to 17th century Italy and was brought to England and cultivated for its sweet aroma. Its horticultural name, Lathyrus odorous, is derived from the Greek for pea and the Latin for fragrant.
These flowers gained popularity in late Victorian gardens and were included in gift bouquets sent to convey gratitude. They are considered to be the floral emblem of Edwardian England and were an important part of floral arrangements for every wedding and dinner party during that period. Additional meanings of the sweet pea are delicate pleasure, blissful pleasure and good-bye.
The sweet pea continues to be used in floral decorations and wedding bouquets for its exquisitely soft, paper-like texture, its pretty pastel color palette ranging from purples, pinks and creams to salmon as well as two-toned varieties and its sweet fruity fragrance. But beware, despite its name and delicious perfume, the seeds of the sweet pea are poisonous if ingested.
If you choose to grow sweet pea, keep in mind that the vines need full sun and rich, well-drained soil to flourish. They have plentiful blossoms and are great cutting flowers for decoration. The Farmer’s Almanac recommends that you, “Gather the flowers in the morning when the dew is still on them. This is when their scent is the sweetest.” You can even use their dried petals to make a delightful potpourri.
Every month has its own meaningful flowers and we hope you enjoy perusing them in our chart. Birth flowers make for wonderful gifts filled with symbolism and also inspire some of most unique designs including our vine-like flower lariats.
Click to view sassy “Lady Bug” lariat – winds like a vine in vibrant red and lime green.
So here’s to flowers, they bring us inspiration and joy. One of our favorite poets sums it up well:
The earth laughs in flowers.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Comments 62
Not only do I love semi precious stones, but I also adore flowers. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen or maybe just haven’t looked at the birth flowers in the way you presented them in this post. As a February born Aquarius, I do know that amethyst is my stone, so was a bit surprised to see two lovely purple flowers as my birth flowers. Primrose and African Violets. I was just at a garden centre looking for African Violets last week. The energy of the flowers definitely permeates your collection and made me think that perhaps you could do a collection (if you don’t already) that melds the stones and their energy and look, with the flowers for the month. It could be your Zodiac collection, combining birth sign and month, which you might have already considered. The other interesting synchronicity is with your quote, which is one of my favourites and I have it scheduled to share this week as well.
Oh I’m so glad to be a Water Lily or Larkspur and I have to agree with its meaning ‘Purity of Heart”. I did a bit more research and found that The Water Lily is the national flower of Bangladesh and symbolises love and life. In Ancient Egypt, the Lily was the symbol of Upper Egypt and depicted the unity of its people.
On the Asian continent the Lily is considered to be sacred by the Buddhist and the Hindus. According to Buddhism, enlightenment is associated with this blossom. Water Lily is also a popular choice amongst brides who choose it to adorn their bridal bouquets since it represents chastity and as you alluded to Roslyn, purity of the heart and soul.
I love Water Lilies as I do all flowers and have enjoyed reading more about their corresponding meaning. Daisy’s take me back to my childhood where I recall, like it was yesterday, having good old fun making daisy chains. Oh the memories! 🙂
Thanks Roslyn for a most enjoyable read and a Spring stroll down memory lane!
Author
Thank you, Michelle Williams for the additional research and all the amazing information you contributed. So pleased you are happy with your birth flower. From all that I know,it is a perfect fit.
I’ve know about birth flowers but didn’t know all of the alternatives. Like Michelle, mine are Water Lily or Larkspur. I know the Larkspur was for July but not the Water Lily and I love the information that Michelle shared.
Your post make me think of spring which is definitely lacking in eastern Canada this year. I can’t wait to start to see the flower come up and to let go of all that is winter.
Author
Heather Cameron, thanks for your comment. I think it safe to say everyone in the East is awaiting spring. So glad you read Michelle’s additional information. So appreciate the extra time it took.
Thanks for this post – I had no idea there were birth flowers. What a great way to celebrate birthdays while appreciating the beauty of nature!
Author
Thanks, Deb Nelson, it gives people an option to select flowers or a stone for birthday gifts. Glad we provided new information.
I think I’ve read somewhere that every month has its flower, but I never knew which one is mine. Now I’ve learned it is a Rose, and my name in greek means wild rose.
Author
Tea, glad you learned about your birth flower.
This is wonderful!! When Pamela became a Shrine Clown (that’s a story into itself) we spent quite a bit of time finding the perfect name for her. She’s an April baby and her clown name is Sweet Pea. Yes, from the April Flower. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!!
Author
I thought of you Tina when researching this post. I even said to myself, I should just call Tina who knows this information. Always happy to send you down memory lane.
I hadn’t realized that there are birth flowers. April’s sweet pea appeals to me because it is one of three flowers that I’m not actually allergic too. Because of that, my dad always planted sweet peas when I was growing up. Plus my other 2 allergy-free: zinnias and bachelor button. My birthday is in August, which doesn’t allow me to have the birth flowers in my home. Oh well!
Author
Beth Niebuhr, interesting to note there are 3 flowers you are not allergic to. Thanks for your comment and personal story.
I never realized that I had a birth flower. It seems that mine is a daffodil. I wish it was a pink daisy instead because pink is my signature color and I do love daisies.
Author
You are not alone Sherri Frost. A few other readers wished they had the popular Daisy as their Birth Flower. I think you can always add them to the daffodil bouquet.
Thank you for the breakdown of birth flowers. I had never thought about it like this before.
Author
Glad Rosemary, I provided new information to you.
I also didn’t know there were assigned birth flowers. Need to look them up for my girls and let them know what is assigned to them!
Author
Scott- you can refer to our flower chart, right here in the blog.
I never knew about the birth flowers either (or their meaning). What great information!
Author
Glad Theresa we gave you new information. Our jewelry is inspired by nature, so we sometimes talk about nature.
Oh man…April got my favorite flower!!!! I get that mums (November’s flower and my birth month) are very much a fall flower but I would very much like to request daisies instead please 🙂
Author
Well Beth Blacker, I don’t think anyone would call you crazy if yu added some daisies to the vase.
Thank you for sharing interesting facts about months of the year and the history behind associating flowers with them.
Author
You are welcome Carla Gardiner. Thanks for your comment.
Really interesting info, Roslyn!
I’ve never much cared for my “birth flowers” of holly and narcissus and would love to have had April’s daisies since they are my favorite!
Author
Cathy Jennings, seems I’ve been telling quite a few readers to just add some daisies to the vase when you set up your birth flowers.
What a great read! Although, I’m jealous that mine is the only birth month with just one flower. 🙁
Author
If you could Carol Rundle, what flower would you choose for your second flower?
Thanks Roslyn for a nice blog post. Actually, I did not even know there was birth flowers for every month. So learned a lot.:-)
Author
Happy to provide new information. Thanks for your comment Kararina.
Although I’m a March baby, Daisies are my favorite flower! There’s something about how sweet and simple they are that makes me smile. Exactly as you said, the essence of Spring!
Author
Ok Holly, join the growing Daisy admirers and add them in when you create your Birth Flower vase.
I knew about birthstones but not birth flowers. Pretty cool 🙂
Author
Thanks Michael Kawula, the beauty of reading blogs is learning.
Love narcissus, such a beautiful flower and it smells so wonderful! Of course, I’m biased 🙂
Author
So glad Delia that you are happy with your birth flower.
I like the idea that Earth Laughs in Flowers. And that we each have a birth flower, it’s so wonderful. And as I look at waterlillies, indeed they remind me of the beauty of my daughter, born in July. And chrysanthemums definitely remind me of my son, born in November. Our inner essence showing in nature, how beautiful. Thank you Roslyn, great post. Best 🙂
Author
Renee, thanks for relating to the birth flowers thru the birth of your children. Happy you enjoyed the post.
Re-reading this I was struck this time by the information about the daisy and how versatile and resilient it is as a flower. Ten percent of the world’s flowering plants are daisies was quite interesting to me. Maybe daisies have been considered a more “common” flower because they are so prolific. I remember the wonderful game of “he loves me, he loves me not” and how many different colours daisies come in. Seems “yellow” comes to mind, although I love the photo you shared of the purple daisy here too. Love that it is associated with Venus, the Goddess of Love too. Lovely article and yes, the earth does laugh in flowers. Ralph Waldo really was an observant soul, connected to nature.
Author
If only we had time to reread so many wonderful blogs and books. We get a second take and see more. Thanks for your added contribution.
I was born in October so my flower means joy and modesty.
I’m happy with the joy, but I don’t think anyone would say I’m modest 🙂
Thank you for an interesting read, Roslyn.
Author
Thanks for your comment Katie Paul.
I once did a painting of daisies for an April niece. She told me her flower was sweet pea. We learned we were both right! I love the language of plants and flowers.
Author
I’m sure the painting was beautiful. We also love the language of flowers. Thanks Kathryn for your comment.
Hi Roslyn,
Very interesting post on birth flowers, thank you 🙂 My birthday is this month on the 29th so knowing this info is so awesome thank you for sharing 🙂 Always enjoy coming to your blog 🙂
Author
Firstly, Joan Harrington, have a very happy birthday later this mont. Thanks for your comments and appreciate hearing you look forward to coming to our blog.
I really like flowers, and I did not know there were birth flowers. I just want to know why I was cheated? I am a November baby, and November is the only month on the list with one birth flower. 🙂
Author
LeAllyson Meyer, thanks for your comment. Wish I could just add another flower to your month.
Interesting and informative as usual Roz. I do love me some sweet peas and usually easy to grow, right? I’m not much of a green thumb, moreso brown. LOL Daisy’s are pretty universal and live longer than most flowers in standard arrangements and man, they can come up with some awesome colors too. Loved your “Opal” jewelry piece.. stunning Roz!
Author
Years ago I spent time developing my green thumb. No, I prefer my flowers in a vase & gardens to visit.We enjoyed writing this post as my daughter has the green thumb and once worked in a nursery. Love of flowers seems universal.
Nothing makes a room like fresh cut flowers. As many of you know, it is Cherry Blossom time in our nation’s capital and I can’t wait to see them in full bloom. I went to a boutique yesterday and they created a full center piece of the cherry blossom as a display. Simply gorgeous!
Author
You are so right Yvonne Brown about cherry blossoms. I have a post on my Facebook page about it scheduled. Too bad they don’t last long.
No, did not know there was a special flower just for me! 🙂 Nothing makes me smile as a nice bunch of flowers, I don`t care how they`re presented. It can be a field, a vase, a bed… Oh they are so beautiful. We are compared to lilies in the bible. Makes me grin… Great post, Roslyn! x0x
Author
Thanks for your comment Norma. Most of us feel the same way about flowers.
Can’t wait to learn more about my birth flower next month, Roz. I know lily of the valley, for sure, but there could be others. P.S. I love the Emerson quote!
I’m a July baby and was well aware of my birth flower – lily. Rubies are my birthstone. Your posts are so fascinating.
Glad to know that every birthday is associated with the significance of a flower and the meaning.
I’m glad i was able to nkow the real meaning of April’s flower i didn’t know what to give my beautiful Mom for her birthday on the 22 of April. Any ideas I’M still debating I really love the history behind Daisy flower
Interesting article. I did not know there was a special flower for the birth month for me. It’s really amazing. Nothing makes me smile as a nice bunch of flowers. I love flowers so much. I am glad to read the article. Thank you so much for the great information.
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