January 24, 2005

3:43 PM

Is there a traditional kind of flower or color of rose given for the birth of a baby boy? A friend of mine just delivered, and I want to skip the blue teddy bears and get this right.
posted by symbebekos to (5 comments total)

I used to work in at a florist's and I can't remeber any sex-specific flower that we used for births. Really, the best thing to do is ask the florist. (And I don't think you can go wrong with roses.)

Also, this book is a good reference for flower/situation questions.
posted by PantsOfSCIENCE at 4:46 PM on January 24, 2005

According to 19th Century Victorian floral symbolism, the proper flower for a birth is a Dittany or a Dittany of Crete, which is apparently good for "opening obstructions of the womb and procuring the discharges of the uterus."
posted by bitpart at 5:17 PM on January 24, 2005

Or give the newborn his birth flower.
posted by bitpart at 5:28 PM on January 24, 2005

Thanks, everyone! I went with a dozen yellow roses, which is a fairly boring choice, but clear as a symbol of friendship and stedfastness - I realized, thinking about this, that the flowers are for my friend more than the baby.
posted by symbebekos at 6:14 PM on January 24, 2005

For others who might be interested, if you are having flowers delivered rather than taking them, I would suggest tulips from proflowers.com. They're fairly inexpensive (around $30 for 20 flowers, plus shipping) and so pretty and cheerful, especially in the winter. You can often get a free glass vase upgrade with a keyword - I think this week you can type in "Sheri" (name of syndicated dj pitchwoman).
posted by SashaPT at 8:03 AM on January 25, 2005