Controversy surrounds the true birth flower for February. There is no consensus and conspiracy theories are abound. The battle is between the Iris and the Violet. Both make good cases for being the birth flower. The Ancient Greeks considered the Violet a symbol of fertility and love and used it in love potions. The Iris’s claim stems from it being named after the Greek Goddess “Iris”, the messenger of love linking heaven and earth via the rainbow. February is the month containing Valentine’s Day whereupon millions of people send their messages of love. The floral industry is an industry designed to bring smiles and the spread of love, not litigation. Accordingly there is no high court to settle the dispute. Both combatants have a claim to the throne and deserve their place as a representative flower of birth. One reason, perhaps a biased reason, to choose the Violet over the Iris, is that the Iris is one missed key stroke away from being a symbol of fear and detestation (IRS). Nevertheless, we will treat them equally with love and respect.
Iris meanings include faith, hope, wisdom, courage, and admiration. There are many species of Iris widely grown and distributed throughout world. From their earliest years, irises were used to make perfume and as a medicinal remedy. Today, they are primarily seen in gardens, in bouquets, and in the wild all over the world. The Iris family includes over 200 varieties in a wide spectrum of colors. Irises are one of the easiest perennials to grow.
While garden irises can come in any of these varieties, the flowers’ commercially cut versions include the most popular blue variety, white, and yellow.
The Fleur-de-lis is the national symbol of France. The Iris is the state flower of Tennessee, and the Fleur-de-lis is the emblem for the city of New Orleans.
The Violet’s story stems from Greek mythology. Zeus was in love with a nymph named Lo. Zeus’s wife was suspicious and jealous of Lo. Zeus being fearful of what his wife might due to Lo, turned Lo into a cow. As a cow Lo had no choice but to eat the plain dry boring grasses bringing Lo to tears. Zeus, distraught by the tears of his love, he decided to turn her tears into edible flowers. Thus the Violet was created.
The Violet is mainly found in the Northern Hemisphere. They grow best in moist shaded areas but are tolerable of diverse conditions. The flowers are formed from five petals; four are upswept or fan-shaped petals with two per side, and there is one broad, lobed lower petal pointing downward. With over 400 different variations of the Violet there are a multitude of colors to choose from. Including blue, purple, white, cream yellow and combinations thereof. The purple Violet, hooded blue Violet and butterfly Violet, is very popular in the eastern United States and is the Wisconsin State Flower.
So what to do for a February birthday? How do you choose between the Violet or the Iris.
The personality traits of people who have this birth flower are said to be calm, friendly, faithful, hopeful, and enlightened. Perhaps a person like that will be thrilled with the thought of the gift and not be troubled that you chose one flower over the other. Perhaps to be safe a bouquet of both the Violet and the Iris is best.
Starbright Floral Design is the “Official Florist of Romance” and most of the time we deliver flowers, love, passion and hope everywhere in Manhattan and worldwide. Sometimes we deliver yellow carnations.
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