Gardeners Are Planting Flower Seeds to Choose Baby Names – and It’s the Most Beautiful Idea

I love meeting people with unique names – especially when they're botanical themed. They’re always so beautiful and often come with a great backstory. So when I recently learned that a friend had used flower seeds to help name her daughter, I was instantly intrigued.

It’s an incredibly simple idea, but very exciting, and ever so appropriate for garden lovers out there. All you need is a selection of fast-growing flower seeds, somewhere to plant them, and a bit of patience.

Here’s how to use flower seeds to help name your baby – or perhaps a pet – as well as a touching story from someone who named their child after a flower.

How to Use Flower Seeds to Pick a Name

To use flower seeds to come up with a name, you first need to purchase a selection of seeds to plant. If you’re planning on calling your child something like Primrose, Daisy, or Poppy, pick up some seed packets of each to plant.

However, it is not necessary to name your child after the bloom itself – indeed, unless the seeds have a similar number of days to germination, it won't be a fair race. Instead, the better option is to plant three flowers with similar growth rates and assign a different child’s name to each one. Whichever one sprouts or blooms first is the winner! This is exactly what my friend Melanie did.

"My husband and I just couldn't decide between the names Josephine, Joni, and Summer, so we decided to leave it in the hands of nature," she explains. "We planted cosmos next to a plant label named Josephine, zinnias next to Joni, and marigolds next to Summer. The cosmos not only broke through first, but was first to flower. It felt like the name Josephine was meant to be, and silenced any doubts I had.

"I think we would have regretted not choosing Josephine now, as it's such a classic that isn't very commonly used these days, whereas the other names felt a bit more on trend at the moment. I realized afterwards that cosmos normally takes a day or two longer to germinate, so nature knew what it was doing.

"Even more touching was that the flowers were all still blooming when I gave birth. My husband brought me a little bouquet of Josephine's cosmos to the hospital while I was recovering."

This is a great way to make an event out of naming your baby, as well as to get your friends and family involved, as they could place bets. It’s also a fun tie breaker if you’re stuck on a selection of names. Let nature guide your decision and feel excitement build day by day, waiting to find out what your baby’s name is going to be!

Fast-Growing Flower Seed Picks

Botanical Name Ideas to Start From Seed

If you want to stay true to the botanical name idea, then pay attention to days to germination, as this affects how evenly your plants will sprout and establish. Picking varieties with similar germination times helps ensure a more uniform display and avoids some seedlings racing ahead while others lag behind. Here are some ideas that work as baby names, including average days to germination.

• Alyssum (Alyssa) – 5–8 days
• Amaranth (Amara) – 5–10 days
• Anise – 7–14 days
• Ash (Asher) – 7–14 days
• Basil – 5–10 days
• Calendula (Cal, Callie) – 5–10 days
• Calla lily (Cal, Calla) – 10–14 days
• Celosia (Cece) – 8–14 days
• Clarkia (Clark) – 7–10 days
• Coreopsis (Cora, Corey) – 7–10 days
• Cosmos (Cosmo, Cosima) – 5–10 days
• Daisy – 7–14 days
• Linum / Flax (Linnea) – 7–10 days
• Lunaria (Luna) – 10–14 days
• Marigold – 4–7 days
• Nigella (Nella, Nigel) – 7–14 days
• Petunia – 7–10 days
• Poppy – 7–14 days
• Rowan – 14–21 days
• Sage – 7–14 days
• Sorrel – 7–14 days
• Verbena – 7–14 days
• Zinnia – 4–7 days

The Story of Primrose

Dr. Hezekiah Herra, a special education teacher, named his daughter Primrose for a very special reason. His story is a beautiful example of the power of floral names.

He explained: “In addition to feeling an overwhelming sense of responsibility about naming a daughter (and first daughter and first granddaughter on my side of the family), I wanted the name to reflect who she was going to be.

“I will always remember the instant that I knew she had arrived. I was strolling along the Western Wall in Jerusalem when a sudden, fierce gust of wind came barreling down upon us, and as if by divine intervention, church bells began ringing nearby. The wind was so forceful that it literally stopped me in my tracks. Before I could check my phone, I instinctively knew that something was unfolding before me. An answered prayer. And just seconds thereafter, the message I was expecting arrived: it was time. I quickly boarded a flight and returned to California; she was born healthy and beautiful.

“What I could not have anticipated was that she was born on the very first day of spring. Rather than believing this was simply a coincidence, I felt as though the name had somehow anticipated it prior to our knowing. Primroses are one of the first flowers of spring, announcing the season's arrival long before other signs indicate its coming. This felt perfectly fitting for who she would become.

“Primrose is certainly not a common name, and that is part of why I liked it. It is derived from reality – from nature, from meaning, from a sacred moment at an ancient wall thousands of miles away. Each year, as the flowers begin to bloom in the spring, I am reminded of the wind, the bells, and the moment I knew she was there.”