'/> Fascinating Flowers: The Flower Calendar

Friday, November 28, 2014

The Flower Calendar

Did you know that like birthstones and zodiac signs, there is also a birth flower for each month. These birth flowers are distinctive and have their meanings. Below is a short description of the birth flowers and their meanings.

Carnation

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The carnation is the January birth flower. The plant traces its roots to Asia were it was cultivated for more than 2,000 years. The carnation is a tall flower growing one to three feet high. The carnation plant usually has many lightly smelling sweet blossoms. The word carnation is derived from the Greek words that mean “flower of the gods.” Carnations may symbolize pride, admiration, beauty, gratitude and love. A white carnation has the flower meaning of friendship, red carnation for love, a pink one romance, yellow for disdain, striped carnation for refusal, purple carnations indicate capriciousness and green carnations are for St. Patrick’s Day. On Mother’s Day wear a red or pink carnation if your mother is still alive, or a white one to remember a mother that has passed on.

Iris

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The February birth flower is the Iris. These perennial herb with hundreds of species are found in the north temperate zone. This flowering plant got its name from the Greek word iris meaning ‘rainbow’. Since February is a month of romance, Iris fits well with the occasion. Irises stand for peace of mind, Faith, Friendship, Hope, Valor and Wisdom. The iris comes a few colors including cool blue and snowy white.

Daffodils

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The birth flower for March is daffodil. Daffodils belong to the genus Narcissus. Daffodils grow perennially from bulbs. Most daffodils look yellow, but may come in other colors such as: pink, yellow-and-orange, yellow-and-white, white-and-orange and the rare lime-green. Daffodils represent rebirth, bravery, respect, modesty and unrequited love. It got its name from the word “affodell”, a variant of asphodel.

Daisy

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The April birth flower is the daisy. There are many varieties of daisy but the most favorite one is the Gerbera Daisy , native to South Africa. It is perfect for any occasion as it is cheerful and playful. Daisies are associated with innocence and are thought to bring good fortune and heavenly pleasure. No flower emits such joy and light as the daisy. The fresh look of the daisy looks great in any location of your house.

Lily

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The May birth flower is the Lily. A summer flowering plant, lilies are large, fragrant showy flowers with six petals that may come in different colors such as: white, yellow, reds and sometimes have markings. Lilies are native to the northern temperate regions. The flower symbolizes: beauty, sweetness, humility, purity and chastity. Tiger lily represents wealth and pride.

Rose

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The rose is the June birth flower. Roses might be the most recognizable flower around the world and no other flower expresses love and passion like the rose. Roses comes in different colors, each with a different symbolic meaning. Red roses meant love, pink roses mean grace, admiration, sympathy; while dark pink means gratitude. White roses symbolize purity, innocence, reverence, secrecy and humility. A yellow rose represents platonic love or dying love though in some German speaking countries it symbolizes infidelity and jealousy. Yellow with red tips means friendship or falling in love. Burgandy roses mean beauty. Green roses mean calm. Blue roses mean mystery. Purple roses mean protection.

Larkspur

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The larkspur is the July birth flower. It is a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Larkspur are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and some parts of Africa. The main flowering stem is erect, and varies greatly in size from 10 cm up to 2 m tall; it is topped by many flowers. It is poisonous to livestock. Larkspur can come in orange and blue colors. It symbolizes valor, thoughtfulness.

Gladiola

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The August birth flower is the Gladiola. The plant derived its name from the Latin word gladius ‘a sword’. Out of the 260 known species, 250 are native to South Africa and the rest are found in Eurasia. It may come in different sizes: from very small to the magnificent giant flower. The flower can be pink, white to cream, reddish or light purple with white markings or orange to red. Gladiola symbolizes represents vigor and moral integrity.

Aster

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The September birth flower is the Aster. Belonging in the Asteraceae, there are 600 extant species of aster. The plant’s name is derived from the Greek word “star”, and refer to the star-like appearance of its flower head. In medieval times, many believed that aster plants possess magical powers including driving away evil spirits. Today, aster is known as an amulet of love and an lasting symbol of elegance. Aster also symbolizes Faith, Light, Afterthought, Valor and Wisdom.

Marigold

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The October birth flower is the marigold. With a genus of around 20 species, Marigold is found throughout Europe, the United States and western Asia. The leaves which are usually hairy are 5-18 cm long and the flower heads are 3-7 cm across. The Marigold’s flower meaning is “winning grace” and is sometimes called “summer bride” because it’s flower head follows the sun. Marigold symbolizes affection and grace.

Chrysanthemum

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The November flower is the Chrysanthemum, also known as the mum. A flowering perennial plant, the plant is cultivated in China as far back as the 15th century. The flowers may come in different forms such as: daisy-like, buttons, decorative or pompons. This flower can be red, white or yellow. The chrysanthemum symbolizes compassion, cheerfulness, optimism, friendship, optimism, secret love, wealth or rest. Red chrysanthemum means love. Yellow means secret love and white symbolizes truth.

Poinsettia

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The December birth flower is the Poinsettia, which is associated with Christmas time. The plant which can grow up to 16 feet is native to southern Mexico and Central America. It is often used as Christmas decors because of its festive colors. Poinsettia symbolizes celebration, good cheer and success which is a fitting tribute to December’s festive celebrations.

23 comments:

  1. I never knew there is such a thing as birth flowers. Now, I do! Mine is Gladiola and it's so pretty.

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  2. I have never known about Flowers birth month until today..again no wonder why i've always love and adores Chrysanthemum whenever i sees one its because it's my birth flower...amazing..

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  3. Winning grace! Love it! October baby yo! ;)

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  4. So my birth flower is Carnation, nice! One flower here I'd love to have at home is Poinsettia because it represents a happy occasion, Christmas.

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  5. ooh, mine is marigold! erm, my first time seeing one and I really thought marigold are cuter than that. haha, kind of disappointed. :(

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  6. I really love these lists that you put together! So happy my birth flower is a Carnation! :)

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  7. Beautiful blooms. I was born in August and I didn't know that my birth flower is Gladiola.

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  8. How odd that of all the flowers in this list, the one I have not yet seen in reality is the Larkspur, my birth flower. I like that it is violet, a color I like. And it represents valor, so good.

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  9. The gladiola and the lily are both so pretty. I'm not much of a flower person but these make me take a second look. Perhaps I should pay more attention to them when we see them up close. :)

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  10. First time to know this flowers for calendar months. I think, the maker of this notion is an American.

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  11. so my flower month is Iris... nice ... somehow it says the truth about my personality, romantic.. except for having a peace of mind ... always stressed up.. lol

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  12. I have to read more about the Iris and see what's special about it. This is the first time that I'm hearing about my birth month's flower. Iris has the same color of my birthstone ( Amethyst ).

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  13. Mine's Gladiola. I'm not so familiar with the flower but because I easily believe and keep these kind information (related to birth dates, etc), I wanna learn how to draw that or at least have that flower in my bedroom every now and then. Thanks for sharing this! :)

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  14. I didn't know daisy was an April flower! I also didn't know each month had their own flower

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  15. Oh, mine is Aster. I think I have seen a few here. Although, I often interchange the names of cosmos, zinnia and some other flowers. hehehe

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  16. Mine's Daffodils. It has a nice meaning to it with the rebirth, bravery, respect, etc. This is something new to me.

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  17. These are great flowers. My mom's gonna love these pictures. If you have real ones of these, my mom would go crazy to have something to grow in her garden.

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  18. Ahhhh! Mine represents "vigor and moral integrity". How nice to know :) Thanks for sharing!

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  19. I never knew carnation is my birthday flower! I like Poinsettia as it reminds me of Christmas, although it's the red ones that are more relevant.

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  20. Oooh.. I never knew I have carnation as my birthmonth's flower! Hihi! I think I'm more of an iris or tullip kind of girl, but carnation will do. :D

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  21. I love those flowers and my fave is tulips. I heard rose is good and you can sell your house pretty easy if you have it in front of the house.

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  22. This is the month flowers are blooming. In my country also we have Floria yearly event on this month.

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  23. Mine's Iris. I actually never really thought about irises until i read about them here. I've always liked lilies so i thought those were my birth month flowers

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