Birth flower for March 13
Thunberg spirea
Meaning: charm
Its thin arching stems droop like willow branches, and in spring they are so thickly covered with tiny white flowers that they look snow-laden, which is where the Japanese and Chinese names, snow willow, come from. Each flower is less than a centimeter across, but thousands open together. When they fall the ground turns white. In Japan it lines riverbanks and parks, blooming around the same time as the cherries.