Flower lovers born in the month of April have two spring favorites as their birth flowers: cheerful daisies and fragrant sweet peas. These pretty flowers look perfect together in spring bouquets, but how much do you know about them?
Daisy Color Meanings
Daisies have a cheerful appearance, and they come in so many varieties and colors. But did you know different colors of daisies have different meanings? So if you're gifting a bouquet of daisies to someone who is born in April, you can add further meaning with these colors:
- Pink - love, romance
- Red - passionate love and romance
- White - purity, innocence
- Yellow - happiness, friendship
What Daisies Symbolized in Mythology
There are several ancient myths about daisies. In Norse mythology, the daisy is a sacred flower of the Norse goddess Freya. As the goddess of love, fertility, and beauty, it's easy to understand how the daisy became the symbol of motherhood, childbirth, and the hope of new beginnings — making it a natural choice for April's birth flower. In Celtic mythology, the gods shower the ground with daisies to offer hope and happiness to grieving parents.
Modern Symbolism of the Daisy
Today, daisies are the symbol of purity, innocence, and new beginnings. The daisy is associated with newborns and is often the flower sent to congratulate parents on the birth of their baby. An April birth makes this a great flower choice to send to new parents.
Popular Types of Daisies
If you can't decide on the daisy (Bellis perennis) cultivar for your garden, a little information about the four most popular ones may help you decide. Any of these of these flowers will make a wonderful addition to your flower garden.
Shasta Daisy
When you think about daisies, it's probably the Shasta daisy that comes to mind. It's the quintessential yellow and white daisy. The perennial Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) is found growing wild in pastures and along the highway. It is a larger daisy and produces more blooms. This is a great daisy to add to your cottage garden since it has a frilly bloom.
English Daisy
These little button-like daisies are so cute with their frilly petals and happy yellow centers. So it's hard to believe that in some regions, the English daisy (Bellis perennis) is considered an invasive plant and is often classified as a weed. Some cultivars are showy, even though shorter than other daisies.
Gerbera Daisy
These vivid flowers are the show ponies of the daisy world with their bright colors and huge blooms. This daisy is a native South African perennial and thrives in warmer climates. The Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) is a stunningly dramatic addition to a flower garden.
Related: Growing Gerbera Daisies: Plant Care, Types, & Propagation
Painted Daisies
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With its vivid splashes of color, it's easy to see how the painted daisy gets its name. Painted daisies (Tanacetum coccineum) bloom in early summer, so they're often not available in time for April birthdays, which is a total bummer given how pretty they are. You may prolong the blooming period into the fall if you keep the faded blooms dead-headed to encourage continued blooming.
Daisy Growing Info
Daisies make a great cut flower for your garden. You can grow daisies from seeds, or you can transplant potted daisies from a nursery or garden center. Some daisies, like Shasta daisies, are hybrid perennials. Since they propagate via rhizomes, they may need to be divided every three or more years. Annual daisies are great self-seeders and will generally re-seed year after year.
Happy daisies need sunshine and moist soil. Some cultivars can tolerate partial shade, but be warned: Without full sun, your daisies won't produce as many flowers. You want to use soil that drains well. Daisies can't survive wet feet, but established plants can survive dry spells. You may need to water if the rainfall is less than 1" for the week.
Sweet Pea Color Meanings
I'm totally obsessed with colorful, fragrant sweet peas and have been since I was a kid (even though my birthday isn't in April). The butterfly-shaped blooms look like they've been splashed with the prettiest watercolor paints, and their heady fragrance is out of this world! The various colors of sweet pea flowers carry meaning, which you can keep in mind if you're gifting them to your favorite April baby.
- White - gratitude, innocence
- Pink - joy, happiness
- Red - desire, passion, love
- Purple - admiration
The name can be misleading since sweet peas don't actually produce peas. Sweet pea pods appear after flowering. The plant pods can contain 20+ seeds, which are toxic and deadly to humans and animals if consumed. THEY ARE NOT PEAS. Keep pets out of this part of your flower garden.
Sweet Pea Meanings
Sweet pea flower meanings include a bittersweet goodbye or a joyous hello. If you wish to welcome someone home, sweet pea flowers are a lovely way to send a heartfelt message.
Growing Sweet Peas in Your Garden
If you decide to grow sweet peas in your garden, then you can plant them in late winter or wait to plant in early spring, depending on your Hardiness Zone. Start the plants indoors and transplant once the threat of frost has passed.
Sweet pea flowers need rich soil. Most gardeners add compost to the garden bed around five to seven weeks prior to planting sweet pea flower seeds or transplants to ensure the soil has enough nutrients for these hungry feeders. Sweet pea flowers like the soil to be a tad acidic for optimum growth. You can always add a little lime to your soil if needed.
Sweet pea flowers love the sun but need cool, moist soil. Most gardeners plant taller flowers around the vines to provide ground shade. You want to keep the flowers watered so the soil remains moist. If the buds drop from the vines before blooming, the most likely culprit is a lack of water.
April Birth Flower to Grow or Give
April is a time of new hope and new beginnings as the world wakes up. And the birth flowers represent these new beginnings, bringing a splash of color after the bleakness of winter.
