January birth flower: carnation and snowdrop

The story behind the January birth flowers

January's birth flowers are the carnation and the snowdrop. Birth-flower lists are English and American, so they follow northern seasons, where January is the dead of winter. That's how the snowdrop, one of the first bulbs to flower after the frosts over there, earned its place. The Victorians, who loved giving flowers hidden meanings, did much to make those pairings stick.

Carnations have the longer paper trail. Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers, published in 1884, gives each colour its own message: deep red is a sigh for an aching heart, yellow means disdain and striped means refusal. The snowdrop gets a single word, hope. Most people now read a carnation simply as love and admiration, and a pink one as a mother's love.

The good news for a January birthday is that carnations are sold here all year, from local growers and imports. Snowdrops are rarely sold as cut flowers in Australia. In gardens here the name is often used for snowflakes (Leucojum), a different bulb with similar white bells.

If you want to go beyond carnations, summer has plenty in season. Lisianthus looks like a softer rose and copes with the heat better than most. Sunflowers suit someone who would rather have cheerful than romantic. Tuberose brings a strong evening scent, so two or three stems in a mixed bunch is plenty. Gerberas are grown here in glasshouses year round and come in the same bright colours as a carnation bunch.

Gift tip: January heat shortens vase life, so ask for a morning delivery and make sure someone is home to get the flowers into cool water straight away.