Floriography, by Gina Margolies — flowers

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...

Happy New Year and welcome to January!  January's birth month flower is the beautiful carnation. The scientific name of carnation is dianthus caryophyllus from dios (divine) + anthos (flower). In addition to its role as January's Birthday Blossom, carnations are also the first wedding anniversary flower and often appear in boutonnieres. Humble and commonplace, yet distinct and divine, a bouquet of carnations is the perfect way to kick off a new year. 

The twenty-first of December is the official onset of winter, but chilly temperatures have already descended on Birthday Blossoms Headquarters in New York City. This dip in the mercury magically inspires thoughts of snowflakes, hot cocoa, gingerbread, ice skating, and fluffy blankets. What it does not bring to mind is flowers. Except here at Birthday Blossoms, of course, where flowers are always foremost in our minds, even on the coldest, darkest day of the year. Blossoms popular in wintertime are poinsettia, paper whites, and other flowers typically grown in greenhouses. A perfect example is December’s birth month flower, the lovely...

Here at Birthday Blossoms, we love when birth month flowers pop up in unexpected places. We recently spotted November’s birth month flower on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The current exhibition Lineages: Korean Art at the Met features pieces from The Met’s historical collection as well as loans of modern and contemporary Korean art. The blend of a backward glance with a forward vision spotlights much that is beautiful and interesting about Korean art. The gallery is quite small, and the pieces are close enough to whisper to one another, sharing themes,...

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...