October's birth flowers are the marigold and the cosmos, with calendula as the florists' version of marigold; cosmos stands for harmony and order.
October has the most confusing name on any birth flower chart. The Old Farmer's Almanac says the October marigold is Tagetes and states outright that calendula is not a true marigold. The Society of American Florists lists Calendula (aka Marigold), and other florists' charts follow it. Both plants are orange, both answer to the name marigold, and they belong to different genera. A complete October chart names both and keeps them apart.
The almanacs pair the marigold with the cosmos. Modern American readings for the marigold are bright: joy, warmth and prosperity in the Old Farmer's Almanac, passion, creativity and warmth in Farmers' Almanac. Older readings are darker. Greenaway's 1884 book gave marigold grief, and the Old Farmer's Almanac also mentions remembrance. Cosmos is calmer on every list, standing for order, harmony and balance, a fitting sense for a name drawn from the Greek kosmos.
Marigold, in the Old Farmer's Almanac's sense, is Tagetes, the orange marigold of American gardens. Its modern meanings are joy, warmth and prosperity. The name is shared with calendula, which that almanac says is not a true marigold. Victorian readers saw grief in the marigold, and Greenaway assigned the French marigold jealousy, so birthday charts rely on the warmer modern reading.
Cosmos is both the genus and the common name, and pink is the shade most charts picture. The Old Farmer's Almanac reads it as order, harmony and balance, echoing the Greek kosmos. The Society of American Florists uses a single word, peaceful. Japanese flower language moves in another direction, toward a young girl's sincerity rather than the English sense of order.
Calendula officinalis, often called pot marigold, is the October flower on the Society of American Florists' list, written there as Calendula (aka Marigold). It shares the orange color and the common name with Tagetes but sits in a separate genus. The florists' guide gives marigold the meaning desire for riches, a reading that belongs with calendula because that chart pairs the two names.
It depends on the source. The Society of American Florists lists Calendula (aka Marigold) for October. The Old Farmer's Almanac says the October marigold is Tagetes and that calendula is not a true marigold. They are separate genera that share a nickname.
In Victorian books, yes: Greenaway's 1884 book gave it grief, and the Old Farmer's Almanac notes a link to remembrance. Modern American readings lean toward joy, warmth and prosperity, the sense birthday charts use.
JanuaryCarnationSnowdrop
FebruaryVioletPrimrose
MarchDaffodilJonquil
AprilDaisySweet Pea
MayLily of the ValleyHawthorn
JuneRoseHoneysuckle
JulyLarkspurWater Lily
AugustGladiolusPoppy
SeptemberAsterMorning Glory
OctoberMarigoldCosmos
NovemberChrysanthemum
DecemberNarcissus (Paperwhite)HollyBirth 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).