Do you know what the January birth flower is?
Just like birthstones, there are birth month flowers for every month of the year. Birth month flowers are usually in season during their specific month, so they should be easy to find in florists and mixed bouquets – making them perfect for a really thoughtful gift, or just a treat for yourself.
If your birthday is in January, or if you’d like to buy a personalised gift for a loved one with a January birthday, read on to find about more about the January birth flower and it’s symbolism.
January birth flower: Carnations
What was the first image that popped into your mind when you read this flower name? Mine was wedding buttonholes; the family weddings from my childhood had lots of carnations.
Carnations are very old flowers, full of history and symbolism. Originally carnations were shades of pink or peach, but now you can find them in pretty much any colour, as well as striped and variegated varieties.
The name carnation is thought to originate from either the Roman word ‘corone’, meaning ‘flower’, or the Latin word ‘caro’, meaning ‘flesh’, which was the colour of the first varieties.
Carnations are one of those flowers whose meaning varies greatly according to colour. Red, as always, signifies love, white has the traditional meaning of innocence and purity, and pink signifies affection.
Think twice though about gifting purple or yellow carnations; purple symbolises fickleness, and yellow signifies disdain or rejection!
January birth flower: Snowdrops
Snowdrops are one of the earliest flowers to appear in late winter, making them an obvious choice of birth flower for January.
For me, snowdrops always bring a positive, hopeful feel to the winter garden, providing the first whisper of the spring that is just around the corner. No surprise then that their meaning is one of hope, rebirth and a positive future.
It hasn’t always been a cheery tale for snowdrops though. Apparently they used to be thought of as bringing bad luck, because they always seemed to grow in graveyards. I think I’ll stick to the modern meaning!
A pot of snowdrops makes a lovely gift at this time of year. They will flower happily indoors, and can be planted out into the garden after flowering for a spring display in following years. Here’s a quick guide to planting them:
The January birth flowers are two very well-known varieties, aren’t they? Snowdrops are one of my favourite flowers, so I know which one I’d go for this month – how about you?
More birth month flowers
If you’d like to learn more about the origins of birth month flowers, this post covers the history of the concept. It also has links to the birth month flowers for every month of the year.
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Even though they seem to be looked down on I still love Carnations, especially if they have some of that clovey aroma – but if I had to choose between the two it would be snowdrops, that first burst of spring green and promise of the year to come, I need to go exploring in our garden to see if ours have made an appearance
It’s hard to not choose snowdrops, isn’t it – I’ve just spotted the first one in our garden but all the rest are lagging behind, I can’t wait until they get going properly!