Birth Month Flowers

Carnations and snowdrops stand for January birthdays. Snowdrops are early blooming bulbs that often peek out from under a crust of snow. Their dainty, white blooms are perfect for adding interest to the garden between January and March. Plant them in masses for the best show. Carnations can take cool, not freezing temperatures. They have a pleasant, spicy scent. Carnations make wonderful cut flowers for vases and last a long time. Plant perennial carnations in the garden after the last frost in your area.

Roses are often given as Valentine’s Day gifts, but violets and primroses are considered the true birth month flowers for February. Victorian gardeners gave violets as a promise to be true to their loved ones, since they represent loyalty and faithfulness. Primroses are also ideal gifts for this month, as they symbolize young love. Perennial primroses are fine for growing in part shade, where they’ll often naturalize. They’re usually sold during the winter months and stay in bloom for a long time.

Cheerful daffodils welcome spring and symbolize prosperity and fresh beginnings. For March birthdays, give a bouquet of these pretty flowers. Daffodils come in shades of yellow, orange, pink and white. In late summer or fall, wrap up a bag of papery-shelled daffodil bulbs and a trowel for planting them to give as a gift.

The best time to plant daffodils is in the fall when the soil has cooled down but before a freeze, while it’s still workable. Give the bulbs a spot with at least six hours of daily sun in soil that drains easily. Stagger your planting times and choose different varieties for an ongoing flower show. Daffodils grow reliably in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8.

Think of purity and innocence when you see white daises or dainty sweet peas, both of which are April birth month flowers. Daises also symbolize secrets. Fragrant sweet peas were once given to signify sadness at parting.

You’ll find many kinds of daises that thrive in gardens, such as Shasta daisies, English daises and Gerberas. They also symbolize motherhood. You can give a new mom a potted daisy plant she can enjoy indoors and transplant later.

Cold-hardy sweet peas are easily grown from seeds in spring’s cool temperatures. If you sow the seeds in fall, grow them in pots you can move into a cold frame or greenhouse. You could also protect plants with frost covers when the temperature drops below 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mother’s Day is celebrated in May. Lilies of the valley symbolize motherhood, sweetness and hope. Say happy birthday in May with a bouquet of these dainty, white flowers mixed with some a few broad, green leaves to set them off.

These fragrant plants grow naturally in forests and woodlands in Zones 2 to 9 where the climate is cool or temperate. Don’t dig them from the wild, though. They’re sold as pips, or bulbs, and most will bloom the first spring after planting.

Give them a shaded spot and moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil. They'll spread easily to form a thick groundcover. Lilies of the valley will thrive with a yearly application of one or two inches of organic compost.

June is a popular time for weddings. The month is symbolized by roses and honeysuckles for romance and happiness. Both kinds of flowers are easily grown in full sun and well-drained soil. Give different colored roses to convey different messages. For example, red roses mean love while yellow blooms symbolize friendship or jealousy. Honeysuckles aren’t grown as often as roses, but they deserve a place in gardens for their fragrance and ability to attract beautiful butterflies. Honeysuckles can tolerate part shade if that’s all you have, but they won't flower as profusely as in sun. Plant these pretty vines after all danger of frost has passed in well-drained soil. To celebrate someone born in June, wind a few trailing stems of honeysuckle into a bouquet of roses.

Larkspurs and water lilies, the birth month flowers for July, represent dignity and purity. To grow larkspurs, start their seeds in early spring garden or in fall in warm winter areas. They prefer full sun and slightly moist soil. Water lilies will flourish in ponds and lakes, but you can also grow them in a large tub or other container. Be sure the variety you choose is recommended for your growing zones. Water lilies sprout from tubers in pots kept below the water. Put a water garden on your patio so you can see the flowers bob on the surface.

Imagination, integrity and strong character are associated with gladiolus and poppies, the birth flowers for August. Both bloom heavily in the summertime in a rainbow of colors. Like roses, different colored poppies have different meanings, with red signifying pleasure, yellow for riches and white for sympathy. Gladiolus are a great choice for cut flowers or planting in rows in the garden, so you can easily cut their sturdy stems for bouquets. Poppies can be grown from fall-sown seeds and will attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other important pollinators.

Your flower garden doesn’t have to end when summer turns into fall. Asters and morning glories are birth flowers for September that mean mortality, love and unrequited love. They bloom until frost. Decorate your porch or deck in fall with pots of asters in colors like white, gold, red and maroon, and let carefree morning glories twine over trellises and fences.

Asters that have been forced into bloom usually won’t return, so add them to your compost bin. If you plant garden asters directly in the ground, they usually will return and can be divided every two or three years. Morning glories drop their seeds freely. Pull up seedlings when you see them or mulch around the plants heavily, if you don't want them in the same spot next year.

October brings Halloween with its fall colors of yellow and gold. Celebrate October birthdays with stems of brightly colored marigolds and cosmos. These birth month flowers symbolize passion, peace, tranquility and creativity. Use marigolds for an autumnal color palette in window boxes, pots and flower beds, where they’ll thrive until a killing frost. Cosmos are easy to grow from seeds in the early spring, after all danger of frost has passed, or from seedlings. Look for them in fall colors like orange, red and yellow as well as white and pink.

Chrysanthemums, also called mums, are some of the best flowers for fall. They bloom while other flowers are fading and last a long time in vases, containers and garden beds. For November birthdays, they symbolize honesty and loyalty. Plant hardy mums by late August so they’ll have time to grow a strong root system or buy them in pots to enjoy as annuals. Don’t forget to water chrysanthemums growing in your beds and borders to help these tender perennials come back in the following year.

Narcissus are December birth month flowers, along with the leaves and berries of holly bushes. Plant five to seven paperwhites, or narcissus bulbs, in a 6- to 8-inch pot and store the pot in a cool, dark place for four to six weeks. Check them regularly and water when the potting soil feels dry about an inch below the surface. Tug on them gently when you water. You’ll know they’ve formed roots when you feel resistance, or about three weeks after potting. Bring them into a sunny room and wait for the blooms to appear. Water the paperwhites as needed and stake them if they begin to lean over. They won’t bloom again, so go ahead and compost them. They represent hope. Holly bushes, with their thorny branches and colorful berries, are a good emblem for two other December birthday concepts, protection and defense.