Marigold, a birthday flower of July 18th

Marigold flowers (マリーゴールド) are one of the birthday flowers of July 18th annually. They are also one of my favorite summer flowers. They are also the birthday flower of June 5th. In addition, the dark yellow marigold are a birthday flower for August 20th and the yellow ones are a birthday flower of September 2nd. 

In Japan, they can bloom anytime between April and November. There is a display I love in Chichibu that blooms in July; generally, summer is the best time to see them. But the photo in this post is from a famous display that you can see annually for the month of October at "Marigold Hill" in Honjo city. The individual flowers typically last five to ten days before fading. 

Despite their bright blooms, the general meanings for marigold in Japanese "hanakotoba" is surprisingly somber: "jealously", "despair" and "sadness". Meanings reflected in English floriography too. However, yellow marigolds are said to represent "health" and orange ones "prophecy".