A tortoise in a green cardigan holds up a sprig of lily of the valley with white hanging bells, a watering can nearby

May Birth Flowers

  • Lily of the Valley
  • Hawthorn
  • LilyAlso listed

May's birth flowers are the lily of the valley and the hawthorn, with the lily added by American florists; the theme is a return of happiness.

Lily of the valley is the consensus May flower, listed by both almanacs and by the Society of American Florists. After that the lists diverge. The two almanacs pair it with hawthorn, the genus Crataegus, while the florists' chart adds the lily. Oddly, the Society of American Florists' own meanings guide has no entry for lily of the valley at all, so the flower's traditional sense comes from the almanacs and the Victorian books.

Greenaway's 1884 book gives lily of the valley the phrase return of happiness, and Farmers' Almanac keeps it beside sweetness and humility. The Old Farmer's Almanac adds motherhood and purity. Hawthorn carries hope in Greenaway and hope with protection in the modern almanacs. One practical point belongs with any May bouquet: Farmers' Almanac warns that every part of the lily of the valley is poisonous, and the ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats and dogs.

The flowers

Lily of the ValleyConvallaria majalis

Modern American:
Motherhood, sweetness, purity, and humility
Modern American:
Sweetness, humility, return of happiness

Lily of the valley is Convallaria majalis, a white-flowered plant. Greenaway's return of happiness is the reading most charts repeat, and the common Japanese phrase for it carries the same sense. The Old Farmer's Almanac adds motherhood, sweetness, purity and humility. Because the whole plant is poisonous, according to Farmers' Almanac, it belongs out of reach of small children and pets.

HawthornCrataegus

Modern American:
Hope, love, and protection
Modern American:
Hope and protection

Hawthorn is the genus Crataegus, and in Britain the name usually means C. monogyna or C. laevigata, both white-flowered. Greenaway's 1884 book reads it simply as hope. The Old Farmer's Almanac widens that to hope, love and protection, and Farmers' Almanac settles on hope and protection. The Society of American Florists leaves hawthorn off its May list.

LilyLiliumAlso listed

Victorian:
Purity, sweetness

Lily, genus Lilium, is the Society of American Florists' alternate for May. The florists' guide splits lilies into named types, such as Casablanca and stargazer, rather than giving one meaning, so the general reading comes from Greenaway's 1884 book, where the white lily stands for purity and sweetness. Florists in Japan tend to assign the lily to June instead.

FAQ

Is lily of the valley poisonous?

Yes. Farmers' Almanac notes that the entire plant is poisonous, and the ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats and dogs. A May bouquet with lily of the valley should stay out of reach of pets and young children.

Why does May have three birth flowers?

All three main sources agree on lily of the valley. The two almanacs add hawthorn, and the Society of American Florists adds the lily, so a complete chart ends up with three names for one month.

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).