The Flower Blog

August is bursting with sunshine, bright colors and plenty of reasons to celebrate! It’s only fitting that the month’s birth flowers—the gladiolus and poppy—are just as full of personality. Together, these beautiful blooms represent strength, integrity, remembrance and resilience.

Gladiolus: Strong, Striking and Full of Meaning

It’s easy to see why glads stand out in a bouquet. With tall stems lined with colorful blooms, they add height, movement and a little extra drama to an arrangement. We love using them to create designs that feel bright, cheerful and full of life!

The full name gladiolus comes from the Latin word gladius, meaning “sword,” and refers to the flower’s long, pointed leaves. This is also how glads earned the nickname “sword lily.” Their strong, upright appearance has made them a symbol of strength, victory and moral integrity—the perfect flower for someone who leads with courage and stays true to themselves.

Glads also have a romantic side! During the Victorian era, giving someone gladiolus meant the recipient had “pierced the giver’s heart with love.” Today, they can still represent admiration, affection and infatuation.

What Do Glad Colors Mean?

Glads come in a wonderful variety of colors, and each one can add its own special message:

• Red represents love and passion.
• Yellow symbolizes happiness, friendship and encouragement.
• Pink expresses compassion, tenderness and a mother’s love.
• White represents purity, innocence and sincerity.
• Purple symbolizes grace, beauty and admiration.

Whether you select a color for its symbolism or simply because it makes you smile, glads are a lovely way to send a meaningful message.

Poppies: Remembrance, Imagination and Resilience

Poppies may look delicate, but they carry plenty of powerful meaning. They are best known as symbols of remembrance, especially when honoring those who have passed away or those who lost their lives during times of war.

Poppies are also connected to sleep, dreams and imagination. In ancient stories and mythology, they were associated with rest and peace, giving these colorful flowers a lovely connection to creativity and the dream world.

Because poppies can grow in disturbed soil and challenging conditions, they have also become symbols of resilience. They’re a beautiful reminder that even after difficult seasons, something lovely can still grow.

Three Fun Facts About August’s Birth Flowers

• Glads belong to the iris family, despite their “sword lily” nickname.
• Glad blooms generally open from the bottom of the stem upward, allowing their colorful display to unfold over time.
• Gladiolus was the winning word at the very first National Spelling Bee in the United States in 1925!

Celebrate an August Birthday with Glads

With their beautiful colors, tall stems and cheerful personality, glads make a wonderful addition to an August birthday arrangement. Their message of strength and admiration also makes them a meaningful choice for celebrating someone special.

Visit our website to order a Designer’s Choice bouquet and let us know you’d like glads included. When they’re available, our talented designers can incorporate them into a one-of-a-kind arrangement filled with fresh seasonal flowers and designed especially for your recipient.

July in Indiana brings sunshine, summer gatherings, backyard celebrations, and plenty of reasons to send something beautiful. It is also the perfect time to celebrate July birthdays with their official birth month flowers: larkspur and water lily.

These two blooms may look very different, but they both carry lovely meanings and plenty of fascinating history. Whether you are sending birthday wishes, celebrating a summer milestone, or simply brightening someone’s day, July’s birth flowers offer a beautiful way to make your gift feel personal and thoughtful.

First Up: Lovely Larkspur

Larkspur, also commonly known as delphinium, is a tall and graceful flower known for its beautiful clusters of blooms. You will often see larkspur in shades of blue, lavender, purple, pink, and white, making it a wonderful choice for adding height, color, and movement to floral arrangements.

Its name is said to come from the flower’s resemblance to a meadowlark’s claw, which is why it has also been called Lark’s Claw, Knight’s Spur, and Lark’s Heel.

Larkspur is often associated with positivity, dedication, an open heart, and lightness. That makes it a meaningful choice for July birthdays, cheerful celebrations, and heartfelt “thinking of you” gifts.

One important note: as beautiful as larkspur is, it should not be eaten and can be toxic to people and pets if ingested. Like many fresh flowers, it is best enjoyed in a vase and kept away from curious little hands and paws.

Larkspur Fun Facts

• In Transylvania, larkspur was once planted near stables because people believed it helped protect against witches.
• Native Americans used larkspur blooms to create dyes and repel insects.
• George Washington even mentioned larkspur in his letters.

Next Up: Beautiful Water Lily

July’s secondary birth flower is the graceful water lily. Known for floating peacefully on the surface of ponds and water gardens, the water lily brings a calm, serene beauty to the summer season.

Water lilies are often associated with peace, purity, friendship, wisdom, and new beginnings. Their floating leaves also help shade the water, support aquatic wildlife, and add natural beauty to ponds and garden spaces.

While water lilies are not typically used in everyday floral arrangements the way larkspur and delphinium are, they are still a lovely part of July’s birth flower story and a beautiful symbol for summer birthdays.

Water Lily Trivia

• Claude Monet was famously inspired by the water lilies in his Giverny garden and painted them more than 200 times.
• The International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society was founded in 1984.
• The water lily is the national flower of Bangladesh.

Celebrating July Birthdays with Flowers

There is so much to love about July’s birth flowers. Larkspur brings height, color, and cheerful meaning to fresh arrangements, while water lilies offer a peaceful reminder of beauty, calm, and new beginnings.

If you are celebrating someone with a July birthday, a bouquet featuring larkspur or delphinium is a thoughtful way to make their flowers feel extra personal. You can search for larkspur or delphinium arrangements on our website, request a custom design, or give us a call and let our team help you create something special.

At Gillespie Florists, we love helping you celebrate the people who matter most with flowers that feel meaningful, fresh, and full of heart.

Celebrate July birthdays with larkspur, delphinium, and summer flowers full of cheerful meaning.
Shop birthday flowers from Gillespie Florists today.

April’s birth flowers bring a soft, joyful energy to the season—and none capture that feeling quite like the daisy.

The Daisy: April’s Signature Bloom
Simple, cheerful, and full of meaning, daisies have long symbolized innocence, purity, and true love. They’re the kind of flower that feels effortlessly happy—like sunshine in bloom, making them a natural choice for celebrating life’s sweetest moments.

Color adds even more personality to their message:

• White daisies represent purity and new beginnings
• Yellow daisies symbolize joy and friendship
• Pink daisies expresses gentle affection
• Red daisies carries notes of love and romance

Because of their connection to new beginnings and motherhood, daisies are especially meaningful for welcoming a new baby or celebrating an April birthday. They also carry a playful tradition—symbolizing secrecy and trust—making them a thoughtful gift between close friends.

With their bright faces and classic shape, daisies blend beautifully into almost any arrangement. Whether styled on their own or mixed with seasonal blooms, they instantly add a light, fresh feel that’s perfect for spring.

Care Tip: Keep daisies in fresh water and trim stems every couple of days. They thrive in bright, indirect light and will last even longer when kept in a cool spot away from direct sun.

The Sweet Pea: A Fragrant Farewell
Sweet peas offer a softer, more delicate touch to April’s story. Known for their light, sweet fragrance—often described as a blend of honey and spring florals—they bring an added layer of charm to any bouquet.

In the language of flowers, sweet peas symbolize gratitude, kindness, and heartfelt goodbyes. They’re often given as a way to say “thank you for a lovely time” or to send someone off with warm wishes and appreciation.

Available in a range of soft pastels and vibrant tones, sweet peas add both color and movement to arrangements, pairing beautifully with focal blooms like daisies.

Care Tip: Sweet peas prefer cooler temperatures. Change their water frequently and keep them away from heat sources to help extend their vase life.

Whether you’re celebrating an April birthday, welcoming a new beginning, or simply embracing the season, these blooms remind us that the sweetest moments are often the simplest.

We love incorporating daisies into our spring designs—so if you’re celebrating someone special this April, stop in and let us create a custom arrangement filled with meaning, color, and a little extra joy. 🌼💐

Tap here to see our Birthday Collection!