Larkspur - July's Flower

Every month has a specific flower assigned to it – it’s ‘birth month flower’. The flower for the month of July is larkspur.

Larkspur may not be one of the most familiar flowers, but never the less, it is the flower for the month of July. For me, larkspur is quite fitting for July, as it represents the strong bonds of love and I have two daughters who were born in this month; it’s a wonderful symbol for the feelings I have.

Larkspur is a tall, linear flower hosting dozen of little blooms along its strong stem. Even though it’s capable of growing up to eight feet, it still has levity and lightness to it. Larkspur has a crisp, refreshing fragrance and comes in hues of pink, purple, blue, and white. 

While in general, it’s meaning in the language of flowers is ‘an open heart’, the symbolism changes with the colour of the blossom. Pink symbolizes contrariness, purple strong bonds of love, blue dignity and grace, and white a happy nature. It’s interesting to note that all the colours have positive meanings except for pink. I wonder why?

As with all flowers, the best time to buy larkspur is when they are locally in season. They generally bloom from early spring into late fall. They make a beautiful display just on their own, or as a part of a mixed bouquet. The key to displaying them is to use a tall vase. I prefer one with a wider mouth so the larkspur has space to spread out allowing you to see the florets lower down on each stem.

Something I just recently learned is larkspur is a great flower to dry. Hang them upside down in a warm, dry room for a couple of weeks and they’re ready for you to use as a more permanent display.

Top tip:  The best time to cut larkspur for drying is when the blossoms are open about halfway up the spike and before any petals have started to drop off.