Floriography, by Gina Margolies — WhatsMyBirthMonthFlower?

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.

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...

July’s Birthday Blossom is the playful Larkspur. This Birthday Blossom is light, colorful and complex. Larkspur flowers come in a variety of colors including spikes of red, pink, violet and white which symbolize carefree summer days, feeling lighthearted, and having fun. The scientific name is delphinium, a form of the Latin word for dolphin, possibly due to the shape of the larkspur. Larkspurs were a popular gift in Victorian times when they were associated with a strong feeling of romance. In modern times, white blossoms signify a happy-go-lucky nature while purple represents first love. Even butterflies love larkspur and the...