June birth flowers: rose and honeysuckle
The traditional birth flowers for June, what they meant in the Victorian language of flowers, and how to grow them.
Rose
Rosa
Shrubs and climbers with flowers from single to fully double, in summer; many flower again into autumn. (RHS)
In the language of flowers
“Love” (Greenaway, Dumont). Greenaway also lists more than 30 kinds of rose, each with its own meaning.
Growing it
Plant in a spot with at least four hours of sun a day, in fertile, moisture-retentive soil that drains well; few flowers form in shade. Mulch with well-rotted manure or compost.
Sources: RHS
Honeysuckle (in the UK, also woodbine)
Lonicera periclymenum
A twining climber with clusters of very fragrant, tubular cream and yellow flowers, often flushed pink, in summer, followed by red berries. Its evening scent draws moths. (RHS)
In the language of flowers
“Generous and devoted affection” (Greenaway, Dumont).
Growing it
Grow in full sun to part shade in moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter; in hot summers it prefers afternoon shade. It flowers from July to frost in Missouri and is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9 and throughout the UK and northern Europe.
Take care: The berries aren’t edible, for people or pets. (RHS)
Sources: RHS, Missouri Botanical Garden
About birth flowers
Birth flowers are a tradition, not a rule: lists vary a little, and no one body sets them. The meanings here come from two Victorian flower dictionaries, Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers (1884) and Henrietta Dumont’s The Language of Flowers (1851). Both are free to read on Project Gutenberg.
How each flower looks and grows comes from the Royal Horticultural Society and the Missouri Botanical Garden, linked under each flower. Where US and UK names differ, the US name comes first.