It’s no surprise that April’s birth flowers are the perfect way to sum up spring - daisies and sweet peas are this month’s flowers and come in all shapes, sizes, and colours, a perfect present for anyone, no matter their tastes.
A daisy is a symbol of true love, because structurally it is two flowers combined as one and working together. They also represent innocence and purity, and historically have been linked to the Norse goddess Freyja - the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility.
Daisies aren’t just the small white flowers that grow in your garden and across meadows, they can also be found as the brightly coloured gerberas. This is a perennial plant and a popular cut flower in any bouquet or arrangement available in bright and pastel colours. Sunflowers are also closely related to daisies!
Thanks to them also representing fertility and motherhood, they’re also an excellent present for expectant and new families.
Our other flower this month, the sweet pea, is native to Italy and common in the UK, they remain popular because of how easy they are to grow, and the endless supply of colourful flowers throughout the winter. They’ve also often been used as a way to convey good wishes or say thank you, as well as to express a goodbye.
While they don’t grow garden peas, they are related to beans and other vegetables, but definitely aren’t edible.
A bouquet of sweet peas is said to be the perfect way to say thank you for a lovely time, or represent blissful pleasure, kindness, gratitude and friendship. In France, they are given to brides to provide good luck on the wedding day and throughout the marriage.
Colours of sweet peas range from pinks and purples through to vivid reds and even blues. Variations exist in more than one colour and breeders have also created variants where the petals have streaks and patterns, or even change colour as they sit in a vase - a truly interesting flower for an interesting gift.