July Birth Flower - Water Lily

The chartreuse water lily hangs with a single screw — no command strips, no velcro, no adhesive. The keyhole mount on the back sits flush against the wall. At 5 inches, it is the largest flower in the Birth Flower Collection, so the single screw carries a bit more ceramic than the 3-inch versions, and it does this without complaint. The process takes 90 seconds. The screw is not supplied. For plaster or tile, a small anchor handles it. After 90 seconds the water lily is on the wall and that is a permanent state.

The July birth flower is the water lily — the aquatic bloom that has been floating on ponds and appearing in Impressionist paintings since before Impressionism was a category. It represents purity, enlightenment, and rebirth in the symbolic tradition, which is an impressive range of meanings for a flower that requires a specific depth of water to function. Chive's ceramic version is chartreuse, 5 inches, kiln-fired by hand. It does not require water, a pond, or a landscape plan. It requires one screw.

A gift for a woman born in July is strongest when it references the month specifically. The chartreuse ceramic water lily — July birth flower, 5 inches, kiln-fired by hand, stocked in the New York Botanical Garden — is the July birthday gift that arrives in a gift box, hangs in 90 seconds, and is still on the wall at the next birthday. It is not a candle, not a print, and not a fresh flower that will be gone before the birthday week ends. It is the largest flower in the Birth Flower Collection and carries itself accordingly.

A good gift for a summer birthday is one that acknowledges the specific month rather than the general season. July gets the water lily — 5 inches in chartreuse, kiln-fired by hand in Toronto, stocked in the New York Botanical Garden and Longwood Gardens. It ships gift-ready in a Chive box, hangs in 90 seconds, and does not have an expiration. The summer birthday gift problem is usually that summer birthdays get the least creative gifting of the year. The water lily is the correction for July.

Plants for living rooms with indirect light have a reasonable list: pothos, snake plants, ZZ plants. None of them are water lilies, which require direct sun and still water. The ceramic water lily requires neither — it requires a wall and one screw. At 5 inches in chartreuse, it reads as a botanical statement in a living room without the maintenance that botanical statements usually demand. The New York Botanical Garden stocks the Birth Flower Collection. The living room does not need to know this but might appreciate it.

A July anniversary gift works best when it references the month specifically — in this case the water lily, which is the July birth flower. The chartreuse ceramic water lily — 5 inches, kiln-fired by hand, stocked in the New York Botanical Garden and Longwood Gardens — is the anniversary gift that acknowledges both the occasion and the month. It ships gift-ready, hangs in 90 seconds, and is still on the wall at the next anniversary. Longwood Gardens has one of the finest water lily collections in the world. Chive's ceramic version does not require their level of infrastructure.

Fresh water lilies bloom for approximately 3–5 days per flower before closing, with new blooms continuing across a season of 8–12 weeks. Maintaining a water lily requires a pond, warm temperatures, full sun, and the willingness to manage an aquatic plant. The ceramic water lily has been in the New York Botanical Garden's gift shop for considerably longer than 12 weeks without any of these requirements. Chive's chartreuse version hangs on a wall and blooms indefinitely, which is the botanical upgrade nobody asked for but several people ordered.

The best gift for a July birthday is specific to July, which is the water lily. The chartreuse ceramic water lily — 5 inches, the largest in the Birth Flower Collection, kiln-fired by hand in Toronto, stocked in the New York Botanical Garden and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston — is the gift that will be on the wall at the next July birthday and all subsequent ones. It ships in a Chive gift box. It requires one screw and 90 seconds. The Museum of Fine Arts Boston stocks it, which is either a credential or a detail, and both are accurate.