April Birth Flower: Daisy and Sweet Pea Meaning

April has two birth flowers: the daisy and the sweet pea. The daisy is cheerful and simple, the kind of flower a child draws. The sweet pea is ruffled, pastel and famously fragrant. Both fit the month when Canadian gardens finally wake up.

This guide covers what both flowers mean, how easy each is to send as a cut flower, and how to choose an April birthday bouquet. If you'd like to see what we deliver, start with our daisy guide.

What is the birth flower for April?

The daisy is April's main birth flower. The classic birth-month daisy is the small English daisy, Bellis perennis, but most people picture any white flower with a yellow centre, and florists use several daisy-like flowers in bouquets.

The sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, is April's second birth flower. It's a climbing annual grown for its scent, with clusters of frilly blooms in pink, purple, white, red and bicolours. April's birthstone is the diamond, which suits the daisy's crisp white.

April birth flower meaning: the daisy

The daisy stands for innocence, purity, new beginnings and loyal love. The name comes from the Old English for "day's eye", because the English daisy closes its petals at night and opens them again in the morning.

• White daisies carry the classic meanings of innocence and purity.
• Yellow daisies read as friendship and cheer.
• Gerbera daisies, in bright pinks, oranges and reds, say happiness and are one of the most popular birthday flowers there is.
• "Loves me, loves me not" is the old game of pulling petals one at a time, which is how the daisy picked up its link with young love.

Our full daisy flower meaning guide covers the history, the folklore and the many kinds of daisy in more depth.

Sweet pea flower meaning

In the Victorian language of flowers, the sweet pea meant blissful pleasure, and it was also given to say goodbye or "thank you for a lovely time". That makes it a sweet birth flower for someone who's moving, graduating or starting something new, as well as a lovely way to say thanks.

Sweet peas are the scented heart of an old-fashioned cottage garden. In Canada they're planted early, as soon as the soil can be worked, because they like cool weather and tend to stop flowering in summer heat. Gardeners often soak the seeds overnight before sowing, give the vines a trellis or netting to climb, and keep picking: the more sweet peas you cut, the more the plant flowers. If the April birthday person is a gardener, a packet of sweet pea seeds tucked in with a bouquet is a small, lovely extra.

Can a florist send daisies and sweet peas?

Daisies, yes. Florists use daisy-style flowers all year: white and yellow daisy spray chrysanthemums, button-shaped daisy pompons and big, bright gerbera daisies. They're sturdy, they last well and they're easy to find. The wild ox-eye daisies that line Canadian roadsides in June are a different plant, and not one florists use.

Sweet peas are a different story. Cut sweet peas are delicate, they bruise easily, and they usually last only a few days in a vase. Many local florists only carry them for part of the year, and some not at all. Our sweet pea guide shows what's available, but if they're short, a florist can capture the same soft, ruffled look with lisianthus, stock or pastel spray roses. Stock has the bonus of a strong, sweet scent of its own.

Choosing an April birthday bouquet

April is all fresh whites, yellows and pastels, and daisies are one of the friendliest birthday flowers there is: nobody reads anything but good wishes into them. That makes them an easy pick for a coworker, a teacher or a friend you don't know well yet. A few ideas:

• A daisy-led bouquet. Amazing Daisy pairs white daisy spray mums with yellow roses and spray roses, a classic April look.
• Daisies with blue. Once Upon a Daisy sets white daisies and yellow gerberas against light blue hydrangea.
• Soft pastels for the sweet pea side. Pastel Harmony blends lavender roses, delphinium and other soft colours, close to a sweet pea palette.
• All white for a minimalist, or to echo the diamond: white daisies, white roses and white stock look crisp together.

Daisies, sweet peas and pets

If the birthday person has a cat or dog, it's worth knowing which April flowers are which. Gerbera daisies are on the ASPCA's non-toxic list for cats and dogs. The daisy spray chrysanthemums used in many bouquets are mildly toxic, and the ASPCA lists sweet peas as toxic to cats and dogs too. A bouquet built around gerberas is the safer April choice; our flowers safe for cats guide has more options.

Most daisy-style flowers last about a week in a vase. Recut the stems, change the water every two days, and keep them out of direct sun. Our vase life guide has the details.

What to write on the card

A line about the flower's meaning turns a April birthday bouquet into something more personal. A few to borrow:

• "Happy birthday! Daisies mean new beginnings, so here's to a fresh start on your year."
• "Sweet peas mean blissful pleasure. That's my wish for your birthday."
• "Loves me, loves me not? Definitely loves you. Happy birthday."
• "Thank you for a lovely year of friendship. Happy April birthday."

Sending an April birthday bouquet anywhere in Canada

Flowers on Demand delivers across every province and territory through a network of local florists, who arrange and hand-deliver each order. Delivery is a flat $19.99. For same-day delivery, order before 1:00 PM in the recipient's time zone, Monday to Saturday; there's no Sunday delivery.

Start with our birthday flowers, or find the town you're sending to on our delivery cities page. Local florists occasionally swap a stem for one of similar style and value when a flower is short, so if one flower matters most, say so in the card or delivery note.

Other birth month flowers

April follows the March birth flower (daffodil and jonquil) and comes before the May birth flower (lily of the valley and hawthorn). See all twelve in our birth month flowers guide.