Sweet Pea, a birthday flower of June 9th

Sweet Pea is one of the birthday flowers of June 9th annually. It is also the birthday flower of March 20th. In addition, white sweet pea is the birthday flower of both February 15th and March 15th, even though sweet pea is not usually in bloom at that time of year in Japan.

Typically, they bloom sometime between April and June. You can find sweet pea in bloom in some areas of Japan right now. Sweet pea is a delicate, climbing flower with fluttering petals that look like small butterflies in soft motion. The flowers come in shades of pink, white, lavender and purple. The photo in this post is the most recent sweet pea photo I have, but unfortunately it is not the best. I took it in May.

In the Japanese language of flowers, known as hanakotoba, sweet pea carries the meanings of "departure" (or setting out on a new journey), "farewell" (or parting), "faint joy" (or a gentle happiness) and "tender memories".