A capybara in a red knit vest offers a single long-stemmed red rose with a tiny bee resting on it

June Birth Flowers

  • Rose
  • Honeysuckle

June's birth flowers are the rose and the honeysuckle; the rose stands for love, and the honeysuckle for devoted affection.

The rose is the clear consensus for June: the Old Farmer's Almanac, Farmers' Almanac and the Society of American Florists all list it. Honeysuckle is the second flower on both almanac charts. June is one of the few months where no florists' alternate competes with the almanac pair. Flower shops in Japan follow their own calendar, placing the rose in May, October or December on one list and in June on another.

Color changes the rose's meaning sharply. Greenaway's 1884 book gives the rose love, and the Society of American Florists reads red as passionate love. Yellow is where the readings split: friendship for the florists, jealousy in folklore according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, and decrease of love in Greenaway. Honeysuckle is simpler. Greenaway called it generous and devoted affection, and the Old Farmer's Almanac speaks of happiness and affection for a new love.

The flowers

RoseRosa

Modern American:
Love, beauty, and affection
Modern American:
Love, gratitude, appreciation
Modern American:
Passionate love

Rose, genus Rosa, is usually pictured in red for June. The Old Farmer's Almanac gives it love, beauty and affection; Farmers' Almanac adds gratitude and appreciation. For a birthday, red keeps the message clear. Yellow roses carry mixed signals: friendship to American florists, yet jealousy in older folklore and in Greenaway's 1884 book, where the yellow rose meant decrease of love.

HoneysuckleLonicera

Modern American:
Happiness and affection for a new love
Modern American:
Bonds of love
Victorian:
Generous and devoted affection

Honeysuckle is the genus Lonicera, shown here in yellow. Greenaway's 1884 reading, generous and devoted affection, is one of the warmest in her book. Farmers' Almanac calls it the bonds of love, and the Old Farmer's Almanac ties it to happiness and affection for a new love. The Japanese species, Lonicera japonica, carries a similar sense of devotion in Japanese flower language.

FAQ

What does a yellow rose mean for a June birthday?

It depends on the source. The Society of American Florists reads yellow as friendship. The Old Farmer's Almanac mentions a folk reading of jealousy, and Greenaway's 1884 book listed decrease of love. Red avoids the ambiguity.

Why is honeysuckle a June birth flower?

Both the Old Farmer's Almanac and Farmers' Almanac pair it with the rose for June. The Society of American Florists lists only the rose, so honeysuckle mostly appears on almanac-based charts.

Birth flowers and flower meanings are cultural traditions. Month lists follow The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Farmers’ Almanac and the Society of American Florists; the daily calendar is from William Hone’s The Every-Day Book (1825).