I've known my birthstone for years (garnet, if you're wondering), but it's only in recent years that I found out what my birth flower is. I'd bet that I'm not the only one, which I think is a shame! The flowers are often far more interesting.
Each of the twelve months has it's own birth flower, with its own meaning and its own history rooted in what the Victorians would refer to as 'the language of flowers'. A complete and organic way to communicate feelings without using any words. While the tradition itself has faded, the flowers are here to stay. I loved learning about them so much that I decided to design a whole range of hand sculpted necklaces to honour them!
This is the full guide to all twelve, with a taster of the story behind each one.
Browse our handmade birth flower necklace collection here →
January - Carnation
Instantly recognisable with their soft, ruffled petals, carnations have been a symbol of love, admiration and loyalty for centuries. They come in almost every colour imaginable, each carrying a slightly different meaning - but at their heart, a carnation is about devotion: given freely, worn proudly.
Our January birth flower necklace is sculpted with a soft pink carnation, chosen to reflect the heartfelt warmth the flower has come to represent.
January Birth Flower Necklace - Carnation →
February - Iris
The iris is named for the Greek goddess of the rainbow - a messenger between worlds - and it carries meanings of faith, hope and eloquence. It's a flower of extraordinary range: irises come in more colours than almost any other bloom, and their layered petals have an architectural beauty that makes them stand apart.
Our February birth flower necklace is sculpted in a deep, rich shade of violet, chosen to capture the element of elegance this unique bloom has always symbolised.
February Birth Flower Necklace - Iris →
March - Daffodil
The daffodil is a cheerful wildflower - one of Shakespeare's favourites - and a herald of good things coming. It's associated with good fortune, luck and happiness, and has a kind of uncomplicated joy about it that's hard to resist. One of the first flowers to push through after winter, it carries the promise of what's ahead.
Our March birth flower necklace is handmade in a bright, cheerful sunshine yellow - exactly the shade a daffodil should be.
March Birth Flower Necklace - Daffodil →
April - Daisy
Sweet, simple, and one of the oldest flowers known to grow alongside us - the daisy is April's birth flower, carrying meanings of innocence, sincerity and loyalty. The word daisy comes from 'day's eye' - it opens to the sun in the morning and closes at night, faithful and uncomplicated. The symmetry of daisies scattered across a meadow is one of those sights that stops you.
Each petal on our April birth flower necklace is meticulously sculpted in our clearest, brightest white clay.
April Birth Flower Necklace - Daisy →
May - Lily of the Valley
May's birth flower might be the one with the most tender meaning. The graceful lily of the valley - with its drooping bell-shaped petals and soft scent - is steeped in folklore and deeply linked with motherhood, sweetness and purity. It's also been woven through royal wedding bouquets for generations, from Queen Victoria to Kate Middleton.
Almost melancholic in its delicacy, this is a flower that asks you to slow down and notice it. We think that's exactly what a birth flower necklace should do too.
May Birth Flower Necklace - Lily of the Valley →
June - Rose
The rose has meant love for longer than written history - appearing in mythology from ancient Greece and Rome, cherished across cultures and centuries for its beauty and depth of feeling. June's birth flower carries meanings of romance, beauty and passion, with different colours holding different shades of that love.
Our June birth flower necklace features a classic deep red rose, chosen to convey the lasting bonds and deep adoration the rose has always represented.
June Birth Flower Necklace - Rose →
July - Larkspur
Larkspur is the birth flower fewer people know - which gives it a particular quiet charm. Its tall spires reach upward, and it carries meanings of levity, an open heart, and a lightness of spirit. For someone born in July - the depth of winter in New Zealand - a birth flower that means openness and lightness feels like a generous gift.
July Birth Flower Necklace - Larkspur →
August - Poppy
Poppies hold a dual meaning that sits in interesting tension: remembrance and imagination. They've been a symbol of sleep and dreams across cultures - the poppy fields of mythology, the red poppies worn in November - but also of creativity and a visionary openness. August people often carry both: a long memory and a wide-reaching mind.
August Birth Flower Necklace - Poppy →
September - Aster
The aster gets its name from the Greek word for star - and the flower earns it. Its ring of petals radiating from the centre gives it that quality, and its meanings - patience, hope and valour - are the kind that grow more interesting with age. September in NZ is the beginning of spring, which feels exactly right for hope.
September Birth Flower Necklace - Aster→
October - Marigold
Marigolds have been used in ceremonies across cultures for thousands of years - guiding spirits home during Día de los Muertos in Mexico, woven into wedding garlands in India, honoured as sacred in ancient Egypt. October's birth flower carries meanings of warmth, creativity and courage. It's not a shy flower, and October people often aren't either.
October Birth Flower Necklace - Marigold →
November - Chrysanthemum
The chrysanthemum means loyalty, longevity and joy - and it carries that meaning across cultures. In Japan it became the symbol of the Emperor. In China it's one of the four noble plants. It blooms late in the season, after most other flowers have finished, which says something about the kind of staying power it represents. November's birth flower is for people who show up again and again.
November Birth Flower Necklace - Chrysanthemum →
December - Narcissus
December's birth flower is the narcissus - small, precise, and quietly determined. It blooms in the heart of Northern Hemisphere winter, finding its way through the cold. Its meanings of hope, renewal and inner reflection feel right for the turning of the year: a moment to look back, and to look forward.
December Birth Flower Necklace - Narcissus →
How to choose your birth flower necklace
You can choose by birth month - find the flower that belongs to your person's birthday, and you've already made a deeply personal choice. But you can also choose by meaning. If lily of the valley's association with sweetness and motherhood feels right for someone, it doesn't matter what month they were born in. The flowers are there to be worn by whoever they resonate with.
Every birth flower necklace in the collection is handmade in our Auckland studio from polymer clay, hand-sculpted and painted by hand. They're $26 each, available on a silver or gold chain, and arrive in plastic-free recycled packaging. And 20% of our annual profits go directly to the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand.
