What Each Birth Month Flower Means—And How To Arrange Them

We’re used to associating our birthday with specific zodiac signs and gemstones, but flowers? Not so much. However, traditionally, each month has two flowers associated with it, except for November. (Sorry, November babies!)

And you might be surprised to learn that flowers are much more than a beautiful part of nature and a lovely home accent. Each variety has symbolic meaning, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. Good Housekeeping recently broke down which blooms belong to each month and what they represent.

We’ll get to that in a minute, but first we wanted to speak with some floral experts about the best way to arrange some birth month flowers for displaying at home or gifting as a bouquet.

JP Montúfar, chief floral officer and co-founder of The Bouqs Company, said that carnations—one of January’s flowers—undeservedly get a bad rap. “They are actually really beautiful, long-lasting and affordable flowers. It’s all about how you arrange them!” He suggested placing single-color carnations together tightly in a monochrome arrangement for a modern look.

Christina Stembel, founder and CEO of Farmgirl Flowers, is partial to poppies, one of October’s flowers. “There’s only a few flowers that I actually prefer styled all on their own, and poppies are one of them,” she said. “Their dainty stems and petals can be all too easily overshadowed by other larger-headed blooms.”

She recommended arranging 10 to 15 stems in a simple, small-mouthed vase. “To play up their wildflower feel, gently grasp the bunch in your fist,” she said. “Use your other hand to stagger the height of each head. Aim for at least a few inch difference between the tallest and the shortest. If my vessel is going to be sitting out on a table (and viewable from all sides), I also like to make sure I’m fanning the heads out in every direction. Poppies will give you an assist here—their stems often grow a little to one side!”

Still stumped about arranging your birth month blooms? Andrea Ancel, lead floral designer at FTD, says that she always considers these four factors when creating the perfect bouquet: “The color should capture the personality of the lucky recipient. Texture should give depth and character to the design. For scale, create balance with the use of delicate blooms next to larger, more overbearing varieties. In terms of size, consider how many stems it takes for you to tell a story through the beauty of flowers.”

Now, without further ado, let’s jump into all the birth month flowers and their meanings, courtesy of Good Housekeeping.

To kick off the year on a positive note, snowdrops symbolize hope and purity, whereas carnations have different meanings depending on their hue. Pink means affection, white is pure love, and red means, “I love you.” Striped carnations, on the other hand, send a different message altogether: They convey regret for unrequited love.

It’s no coincidence violet and primrose were chosen for the month of Valentine’s Day: The former means loyalty and faithfulness, and the latter signifies that you can’t live without someone.

The daffodil and the jonquil represent unequal love and rebirth. The second sentiment is perfect for the season of spring, don’t you think?

It should come as no surprise that the sweet, unassuming daisy is associated with purity, innocence, and loyal love. The sweet pea, on the other hand, represents blissful pleasure or bidding goodbye.

Happiness seems to be the theme of May’s flowers, with the lily of the valley signifying a return to happiness as well as sweetness and humility. The hawthorn is meant to provide supreme happiness and hope.

Roses are perhaps the most classic of flowers, and their colors have long signified different meanings: red is love, white is purity or a new beginning, and yellow is jealousy. The honeysuckle is a flower of commitment, marking the everlasting bonds of love.

For this summer month, the larkspur symbolizes strong bonds of love, whereas the water lily implies purity and majesty. We think Monet would approve.

The gladiolus has quite a variety of meanings, from remembrance and calm to integrity and infatuation. The poppy is similarly complex, with white ones suggesting consolation, red ones symbolizing pleasure, and yellow ones wishing wealth and success.

Love is the common denominator of September’s flowers. The aster represents powerful love and positivity, and the morning glory conveys affection to someone near and dear to your heart.

Marigolds and cosmos are the flowers of the month in October, with the first conveying optimism and prosperity and the second wishing harmony and serenity on the recipient.

As we mentioned, those born in November only get one flower, but chrysanthemums come in enough colors to suit any taste. Mums in white symbolize pure love, yellow ones represent slighted love, and red ones say, “I love you.”

To round out the year on a sweet note, the narcissus (despite its namesake self-absorbed figure from Greek mythology) tells the recipient that you want them to stay just the way they are. The second December pick, holly, is a traditional holiday flower that promises domestic happiness.