There can be no better gift to celebrate the birth of a new child than a bouquet of bright and beautiful flowers in full bloom. A traditional symbol of fertility, motherhood and new life, flowers make very popular gifts for new births and christenings too.

A great way to make your bouquet even more meaningful, besides arranging the flowers yourself or by including a special card, is to pick out the flower specially to correspond with the traditional flowers of the child's birth month.

Carnations are among the more popular bouquet flowers, thanks to their beautiful colours and pretty frilly petals, and they are also the flower of the month of January. February has both the Violet and the Iris. Aphrodite the goddess of beauty is traditionally linked to the Violet.

Spring itself is also associated with new birth and new life and the flowers of the spring months of March and April are wonderfully expressive of the springtime joys. Daffodils for March and Daisies and Peonies for April all denote sunshine, warmth and happiness.

The virginal white Lily and the popular scent of Lily of the Valley correspond to the month of May and signify virtue and humility. The strong scent and bold colours of the Rose are representative of the first month of summer and are hugely popular symbols of love and beauty.

The flowers that are associated with July and August are the Delphinium or Larkspur, and the Gladiolus. The delicate foliage of the Larkspur has led it to become symbolic of lightness and swiftness of spirit, while the Gladiolus means remembrance and strength of character and is a member of the Iris family.

The autumnal month of September is linked to the Aster, which means star in Greek and, while the flowers of October are the golden-flowered Calendula and the pretty Forget Me Not. The Calendula is also known as Marigold and is wonderfully healing.

The Chrysanthemum, the traditional symbol of long life, good fortune and good health is also the flower of November, and flowers that bring a touch of warmth and colour to their given month of December are the Narcissus, the Poinsetta and the traditional Christmas Holly.

Maricruz Tennill, the author of this article, always use Interflora, the service that allow you to send flowers online at the best prices.