Floriography, by Gina Margolies — Birth Month Flower

October's Birthday Blossom is the marigold. Scientifically referred to as tagetes, the common name marigold is derived from the words "Mary's Gold," as the flowers were called by early Christians who placed them around statues of the Virgin Mary, offering the blossoms in place of coins. Today, the marigold is a festival flower in many cultures. It is significant in Nepal, where marigold garlands are used during the Tihar festival. The marigold is also widely cultivated in India and Thailand, where large quantities of marigolds are used in garlands and decorations for weddings, festivals, and religious events. Whether celebrating your own...

October’s birth month flower is the marigold. This orange beauty is the flower of the herb calendula officinalis. Thanks to their sunny orange hues, marigolds are often used to brighten up a garden or a room. But those lovely petals have other gifts to offer. Marigolds possess natural astringent, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties, which means they can lend a helping hand in several ways. Marigold is an aid to healing skin wounds, rashes, bug bites, and, thanks to its antifungal properties, even athlete’s foot. Marigold doesn’t just brighten up the garden, it is a valuable tool in nature’s medicine cabinet.

September's birth month flower is the aster. The name of the flower derives from the Greek word for star. Asters can be found in a number of colors, including pink, red, white, lilac, and mauve. Aster speaks of love and patience. Happy September!

Why do people like flowers so much? Here at Floriography, we often ponder thisquestion. Previous posts have explored various reasons: reminder of the renewal of life,innate desire for beauty, natural attraction to floral scents. We even analyzed themathematics of flowers in an effort to understand the appeal. (Believe it or not, that postis our most popular to date.) Another possible explanation for the perennial appeal offlowers is color. The word color has multiple meanings. In the natural world, color is the property ofproducing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the object reflects oremits light. Science...

January's Birthday Blossom is the beautiful Carnation. This Birthday Blossom is loving, proud, and distinct. Familiar to many as the traditional flower for boutonnieres, carnations are usually white, pink, red or stripes of those colors. The scientific name for carnation, dianthus caryophyllus, comes from the Greek words for divine flower and it’s easy to see why. Carnations are a traditional first wedding anniversary gift as well as commonly given on Mother’s Day, or maybe you buy them for yourself, just because. Whatever the reason, lovely carnations always bring a distinct beauty to your day. PICK YOURS TODAY!