Birth flowers by month
Two flowers for every month, what each traditionally signifies, and the birthstone it pairs with.
| Month | Primary flower | Secondary | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Carnation | Snowdrop | Devotion and admiration |
| February | Violet | Primrose | Faithfulness and modesty |
| March | Daffodil | Jonquil | New beginnings and unequalled regard |
| April | Daisy | Sweet Pea | Innocence and loyal love |
| May | Lily of the Valley | Hawthorn | Returning happiness |
| June | Rose | Honeysuckle | Love, in a shade-specific dialect |
| July | Larkspur | Water Lily | An open heart |
| August | Gladiolus | Poppy | Strength of character |
| September | Aster | Morning Glory | Patience and elegance |
| October | Marigold | Cosmos | Warmth and fierce affection |
| November | Chrysanthemum | Peony | Friendship and honest cheer |
| December | Narcissus | Holly | The wish for others to stay as they are |
Where birth flowers came from
The idea is Victorian. Floriography — the language of flowers — turned bouquets into coded messages during the nineteenth century, when saying things directly was often not an option. Assigning flowers to birth months came out of the same impulse, and the lists were popularised by almanacs rather than fixed by anyone in particular.
That is why they vary. British and American lists disagree on several months, and hemispheric seasons make a nonsense of some of the pairings — a December narcissus means something rather different in Sydney than in London.