You’ve heard of birthstones – the gemstone assigned to the month you were born in – but you might be surprised to learn that there’s a flower assigned to every month as well.
The concept is thought to have originated in Roman times when birthday celebrations first begun.
These early celebrations included decorating the altars of Roman gods with flowers and giving flowers as birthday gifts.
The idea of flowers having symbolic meaning, was first introduced to England in the early eighteenth century, by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. It took around a century for the floriography (language of flowers) craze to catch on though.
During the Victorian era, the Language of Flowers became hugely popular. Flowers provided a way of conveying a hidden message to a lover, without breaking the strict rules of etiquette surrounding
displays of love or affection. Every type of flower had a meaning assigned to it, and this could be used to communicate a message, feeling or mood to the recipient without speaking aloud. Basically, it was an easy way to send a coded message!
Fast forward to the present day, and we now have a choice of flowers with specific meanings for each month of the year! If you’re ever wondering what birthday flowers to gift, birth flowers can be a great option when selecting your blooms for a truly personal gift!