Floriography, by Gina Margolies — October birthday flower

Hello October Birthday Blossoms and Happy Autumn!   Welcome to the latest edition of Fun Flower Facts, where whimsy meets who, what, where, when, and why. In this edition, we will be introduced to Mr. Luther Burbank. Luther Burbank was an American botanist, horticulturist, and agricultural scientist. Burbank grew up on a farm and had a high school education. He taught himself botany and agriculture. Burbank developed over 800 strains and varieties of plants. You might be familiar with some of the flowers he cultivated, such as the Shasta Daisy.  The Russet & Burbank potato, often called the Idaho potato, is...

With the official first day of autumn seven days away, here at Birthday Blossoms HQ we are enjoying the golden season. The dog days of summer have melted into warm afternoons and barely cool evenings. It is the late summer into early fall golden time of year. And speaking of golden, this time of year brings to the forefront something golden that Birthday Blossoms loves, namely the Golden Proportion, close cousin of our beloved Fibonacci sequence.   Regular readers of Floriography know all about the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two...

Happy October! Writing a blog about birth month flowers never feels like a job. I look at beautiful photos, research flowers, share fun facts, and spotlight joyous moments, all while calling it work. Obviously, there is no downside here. It’s hard to select my favorite thing about this job, but one of my top five would be all of the things I have learned in the past two years. One of the most interesting subjects I have researched is the significance of various types of flowers in different cultures. A great example of this arose from my exploration of October’s...

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.