Birth flower for March 17
Pear blossom
Meaning: gentle love
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang trained musicians and dancers in a palace pear garden, so Chinese opera is still called the Pear Garden. In the poem Song of Everlasting Sorrow, Bai Juyi compared Yang Guifei's tear-wet face to a spray of pear blossom in spring rain. The snow-white petals set off striking purple-red anthers.