In the month of June, spring temperatures rise as we embrace the full bloom of summer. For June babies, their fragrant birth flowers represent the nostalgic promise of warm months ahead. Both roses and honeysuckle, the two June birth flowers, are in peak blooming season throughout the month, making them a gift that’s both practical and sentimental.
Assigning flowers to the months of the year began with ancient cultures all around the world. Over time, the various lists of birth month flowers merged and evolved. As a result, many months have two birth flowers, with the added benefit of making it easier to personalize birthday bouquets.
Roses and honeysuckle are each unique and instantly recognizable in appearance and by their distinct fragrances. They evoke sensory memories of the dewy mornings, balmy evenings, and leisurely strolls of early summer, so a gift of birthday flowers will bring summer to life for your special person! Studies have shown with remarkable consistency that receiving a gift of flowers has mood elevating effects, eliciting feelings like joy, delight, confidence, gratitude, and nostalgia. We can’t think of a better birthday gift!
Primary June Birth Flower: Rose
The queen of flowers, the rose is universally adored, and has been featured in art, literature, and music throughout history, so it’s layered with symbolism. There’s no particular variety of rose designated as June’s birth flower, and that’s great news, because there are three different species producing over 30,000 of them! That gives you a lot of flexibility in choosing a rose bouquet for your favorite June baby.
Rose varieties differ in size, color, and the number and arrangement of petals. Some have large, classic blooms, and some, especially wild varieties, have a simpler, more casual elegance. For those who love the heady scent of roses, there are highly fragrant blooms that fill the room with mood-boosting aromatherapy, and some whose scent is almost undetectable. As for thorns, most roses have either hard, sharp thorns or smaller, less aggressive ones, and a few are nearly or completely thornless. And not surprisingly, the color choices seem endless!
Rose Symbolism
With origins believed to be about 35 million years old, it’s no surprise that roses are perhaps the flowers richest in symbolism. They are most prominently associated with love and passion, appearing in the verses of Shakespeare and Robert Burns as metaphors for the beauty of the beloved. Burns’ contemporary, William Blake, extended the symbolism, weaving in the natural perils for the actual flower – bugs, insects, gardeners – resulting in more complex symbolism. Centuries of roses featured in poems, paintings, and songs have infused them with layers of meaning.
The best way to let roses send your message is simply to choose the right color, as the symbolism of rose colorshave well established sentiments.
- Red roses symbolize love, romance, beauty, and courage. A thornless red rose means love at first sight, and a red rosebud signifies purity and beauty.
- Pink roses, particularly dark pink, indicate gratitude and appreciation. Light pink expresses admiration and sympathy.
- Purple roses mean royalty, opulence, and luxury, evoking a mysterious, enchanting vibe. They also indicate tremendous admiration or respect, and, like the thornless red rose, love at first sight.
- Orange roses symbolize sensuality and desire, perfect for that steamy summer romance.
- Yellow roses are great for new and old friends, or those loved ones making a big change like a new job, family member, or accomplishment, as they symbolize friendship, hope, and new beginnings.
- White roses signify innocence, purity, devotion, silence, and mystery, popular for weddings and occasions celebrating younger people. White rosebuds symbolize girlhood.
Rose Varieties
Roses are timeless all around the world, and the varieties seem infinite, which can be daunting when it comes to sending a bouquet. But all those varieties fall into three categories, and within those categories, certain varieties stand out, still offering a range of options for a uniquely personalized bouquet.
Old Garden Roses
Also called antique, historic, or heirloom, Old Garden Roses have been growing since before 1867. The highly fragrant double-flower blooms only appear once each season, but this time-tested variety is especially hardy thanks to centuries of evolution to withstand disease and less than ideal conditions.
Wild Roses
Wild Roses, as the name indicates, are known as the wildflowers of the rose family. Also referred to as species roses, they are simpler than other varieties, with a single-flower, five petal bloom which is typically pink. This comes from the absence of cross-breeding and hybridization, more common in Modern Roses. Wild roses are believed to have been around for 35 million years and the source of all roses.
Modern Garden Roses
The descendants of Old Garden and Wild Roses, these are the roses you’re most likely to find when ordering a bouquet. Bred after 1867, Modern Garden Roses differ in a few notable ways. While Old Roses bloom once per season, Modern roses have a continuous bloom and longer vase life, making them a popular choice for bouquets. The blooms are larger, but often not as hardy or as fragrant as other varieties.
Rose History and Trivia
Fossil evidence puts the earliest roses about 35 million years ago appearing first in Asia, and spreading throughout the western hemisphere, but the first garden cultivated roses appeared some 5,000 years ago. It’s believed those early gardens were in China, where by 500 BC, the emperor became so enamored with the flower that its cultivation caused a food shortage.
China wasn’t the only country where roses enthralled royalty. During the Roman Empire, roses were lavishly used for medicinal purposes, perfume, and even as confetti at celebrations. After the fall of Rome, the popularity of roses became less consistent and more dependent on gardening trends.
The fifteenth century saw the War of the Roses, making the flower a political symbol for those vying for control of England. A white rose represented York, while a red one symbolized Lancaster. Thus the symbol of love and esteem also became a political symbol.
Josephine Bonaparte, wife of Napoleon, famously planted an extensive system of rose gardens at their estate just outside of Paris. It was in those gardens that botanical illustrator Pierre Joseph Redoute drew inspiration and ultimately completed his watercolor collection “Les Rose,” one of the most highly regarded botanical art collections.
As the popularity of roses continued to grow, they began to take on material value as property and currency. By the seventeenth century rose water was viewed as legal tender by royalty, and was used as currency and for bartering. But for all the popularity of the flowers, rose garden cultivation didn’t truly take root in Europe until the eighteenth century, with most roses up to that point coming from China.
Secondary June Birth Flower: Honeysuckle
The secondary June birth flower is the uniquely beautiful honeysuckle. Like roses, honeysuckle is blooming at its peak throughout June, and its heady fragrance always stirs up summer nostalgia. Honeysuckle stems are a lovely addition to wildflower and garden bouquets, both in bloom and while they are still budding. In bloom, the flowers can last for several days.
Honeysuckle Symbolism
Honeysuckle’s symbolism aligns with its sweet fragrance. It represents pure happiness, innocence and “the sweetness of life.”
There is another set of mythologies about honeysuckle that’s not so sweet. It was once believed that planting the vines near the entrance of your home warded off evil spirits and brought good luck. And despite the meaning of purity connected to the flowers, in Victorian times young women were forbidden to bring honeysuckle inside the home, as it was believed the fragrance would cause suggestive dreams!
Honeysuckle Varieties
There are around 180 species of honeysuckle, which is a flowering vine. Because it grows voraciously, it can be quite invasive, and even illegal to plant in some areas. But with so many varieties with different growing patterns, a carefully chosen honeysuckle can be a welcome and inviting addition to the garden.
A less invasive variety can be easy to maintain as well, and of those 180, there are some that stand out.
Alpine
This variety’s growth varies from 3 to 8 feet, producing long stems and exceptionally large yellow flowers and red fruit. The brilliant colors on this semi-evergreen shrub make it especially striking.
Box
This evergreen Chinese native is favored for its elegant, arched branches, growing five to eight feet high. Box Honeysuckle is non-invasive, making it a complement to most gardens.
Burmese
Another Chinese variety, this giant grows up to 60 feet, with large dark green leaves and berries, and six inch yellow blooms.
Honeyberry
Native to North America, Europe, and Asia, Honeyberry is aptly named, as it’s the deep blue berries that make this honeysuckle stand out. Like many other varieties, it has green foliage and yellow blossoms, but the sweet, edible berries make a striking display.
Honeysuckle History and Trivia
Honeysuckle has its origins in East Asia and southern Russia. First introduced in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was believed to be simply a sweet smelling ornamental shrub. Certain varieties, like Bell’s and Morrow’s quickly became invasive, revealing a perilous side to these beauties.
Since its introduction, honeysuckle’s invasive nature has been something growers continue to grapple with, but the lure of its sweet fragrance and ethereal appearance are irresistible to gardeners and horticulturists. Honeysuckle species can be found along fences and walkways, in forests and parks, and we continue to delight in their gifts!
Send June Birth Month Flowers
A gift of birthday flowers is a surefire win, and the two June birth flowers make it extra special, as well as a little easier to shop. The great news is that there are birth flowers for every month, and we’re here with all the flower knowledge you’ll need for a birthday flower delivery that will not only bring a smile on the special day. They’ll brighten the space for days or even weeks with blooms that last longer because we deliver directly from the farm to your door. So treat the June baby in your life, and stay tuned for July’s birth month flowers!
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