June Birth Flowers & Meanings: Rose & Honeysuckle
If you or someone you love are born in June, you're in good company! Lots of big names celebrate June birthdays, including Meryl Streep, Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman, Ariana Grande and Liam Neeson.
Flowers are one of the best gifts you can send someone on their birthday, especially if you can't be with them to celebrate on their special day. If you're looking to send someone a beautiful bunch of birthday blooms, be sure to check out our range.
What is June's birth flower?
You may already know that the official birthstone of June is the pearl. But did you know there are also two June birth flowers?
June's birth flowers are the rose and the honeysuckle, two elegant, beautiful blooms to match the month's birthstone.
Let's explore the symbolism, history and meaning of these two flowers.
June Birth Flower #1: Rose
Like the pearl, this particular June birth flower conjures images of elegance, timelessness and beauty.
Many associate roses with February, or at least a specific date in February. We're talking, of course, about Valentine's Day on February 14th.
So why are roses one of the two birth flowers of June? It's likely because in the northern hemisphere, roses are usually at their flowering peak around this time of year.
Thankfully, year-round cultivation means you can find roses all the time, so you should have no trouble finding a bunch to gift to a June baby on their birthday.
Rose Flower Meaning
You may not be particularly surprised to hear that the rose is a universal symbol of love, whether that's romantic love, love between family members or love between friends.
The good thing about roses is that there are so many great colour choices, so you can gift your June loved one a bunch of birthday blooms in their favourite hue!
Each colour of rose has a different meaning, which you may want to take into account when gifting them. We'd recommend pink, yellow or orange roses in particular for birthday gifting.
Rose Flower History
This June birth flower rose has long been a symbol of undying love and beauty, but throughout history it's also been a sign of secrecy, war and political alliances.
Roses have been cultivated for thousands of years and have a rich history that spans the globe.
The earliest known cultivation of roses in gardens dates back to ancient China over 5,000 years ago, where the flowers were used for medicinal purposes, as well as for ornamental purposes in gardens.
The ancient Greeks and Romans also valued roses and used them for decoration, perfume, and medicine.
During the 15th century, roses were used as a fighting faction symbol against England. White roses represented The House of York, while red roses symbolised The House of Lancaster, known today as “The War of the Roses”.
Significantly pre-dating all of this though, roses have been found in fossils dating back some 35 million years.
The world's oldest living rose is believed to be over 1,000 years old and is located in Hildesheim, Germany. It's known as the Thousand-year Rose or the Hildesheim Rose, and it grows on the apse of the Hildesheim Cathedral.
And did you know that roses have even been sent into space? In 1984, NASA took rose seeds on the space shuttle Challenger as part of an experiment to see if they would germinate in zero gravity.
Rose petals are also edible. They can be used to make jams, tea and ice cream, or as decorations on desserts.
Today, there are hundreds of different rose varieties, which can be classified into three main groups: Old Garden Roses, Modern Roses and Wild Roses. The ones you'll see in most gardens and floral arrangement nowadays are Modern Roses.
Many of the worlds most highly prized roses are grown in Ecuador and Colombia, as well as Ethiopia and Kenya.
If you're looking to send roses to someone you care about, be sure to check out our collection of roses and rose bouquets.
June Birth Flower #2: Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle is the other June birth flower. In many places, the scent of honeysuckle is a sign that summer is here. In Australia, of course, June is the beginning of winter, so there'll be no scent of honeysuckle in the air at this time of year.
From the Caprifoliaceae family, the honeysuckle flower grows tall and in clusters of bright reds, fuchsia pinks, pale yellows, and white with tubular petals that arch high. There are about 180 known species in the world.
While honeysuckles undoubtedly make beautiful garden plants, it’s important to note that some types of honeysuckle are considered invasive.
Honeysuckle Flower Meaning
Honeysuckle flowers represent true happiness, romantic love, good fortune, and sweetness towards one another.
They can also be strong symbols of nostalgia, first loves, or old flames, so you can portray a number of messages to a past relationship, or gift them as a way to reminisce on old times.
In the Victorian era, these buds were gifted as a “sweet deposition” due to the delicious fragrance, and often resemble an embrace with how these petals fall.
Honeysuckle Flower History
Historically, the honeysuckle stems from the Japanese variety, Lonicera Japonica, which was native to Japan, China and Korea.
The plant was introduced in the United States in the 1800s. It was originally planned for wildlife habitats but escaped cultivation by the 1900s across wetlands, woodlands, and roadways. Since it’s shade tolerant, the plant is able to spread easily without strict, ongoing maintenance.
In Greek mythology, the honeysuckle is said to stem from the story of two lovers, Daphnis and Chloe, who could only meet when the flower bloomed. Aphrodite, Goddess of love, granted their wish to extend the time the honeysuckle flowered, which is why it is said to last for longer periods in warm weather.
Send June Birthday Flowers with Floraly
If there's a special someone you'd like to send beautiful flowers to on their birthday in June, or any other month of the year, you've come to the right place.
Our range of birthday flowers has something for everyone. From full bouquets to petite posies and stunning single varieties like sunflowers and roses, you're sure to find the perfect birthday flowers for the June baby in your life.
To discover the birth flowers of other months, be sure to read our handy guide!