September Facts
Birth Flower: Aster, Monte Casino
Also Know As: Heath AsterBotanical Name: Aster ericoides
Pronunciation: A-ster e-ri-KOI-deez
Availablity: year-round
Decorative Life: 8-12
About This Flower:
The name derives from the Latin word for "star," after its star-like flower shape. Of the over 600 species of aster, some are cultivated perennials, some are classed as weeds, though this takes nothing away from their abundant beauty in the autumnal countryside of the Northeastern U.S. These miniscule but innumerable flowers have healing properties for humans and their seeds are a fall and winter food for songbirds. In arrangements, they will last up to 12 days.
Birth Stone: Sapphire 
Sapphires are especially
popular in deep blue, but are found in every
color except red. Fancy colored sapphires - including pink, green,
orange, and golden yellow - are magnificent when combined in
a necklace or bracelet.
Ancient priests and sorcerers honored the sapphire above all gems, for they believed it enabled them to interpret oracles and foretell the future and the sapphire "refused to shine" when worn by the wicked or impure. Ancients believed the Ten Commandments were written on a sapphire tablet. Marriage partners put great faith in the stone...if its luster dimmed, one knew his or her spouse had been unfaithful.
Sapphire is found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Kasmir, Australia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, China and the U.S.