Floriography, by Gina Margolies

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.

If one were in search of a tool to ascertain the time, flowers likely would not come to mind. Clocks, watches, and smartphones are obvious, but flowers? Yes, flowers, thanks to Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist. He is generally known for formalizing the modern system of naming organisms, called binomial nomenclature. In his spare time, Linnaeus compiled a list of flowers that open and close their petals at a particular hour of the day. It is by this list that we may reckon the hours in flower time, using the aptly named Flora's Clock.

When it comes to nature deities, Flora holds the number one spot on our list. You may know Flora as the Roman goddess of flowering plants, sister of Fauna, the goddess of animals and wildlife. It likely won’t come as a surprise that Spring is Flora’s season and her divine attributes are fertility, sexuality, and blossoming.   Flora’s name comes from the Latin floris meaning, naturally enough, flower. She had two temples in Rome, one near the Circus Maximus and another on the slopes of Quirinale, one of the famous seven hills of Rome. The temple on the Circus Maximus...

"The earth laughs in flowers."   - Ralph Waldo Emerson