All Things August

I have to admit…August is my least favorite month! By now, I am so tired of the heat, humidity and the unrelenting mosquitoes.  I take a minimalist approach to working in my garden – only doing the necessities, like watering container plants.  The only redeeming factor about August is that college football is almost here!!!

The month of August is a bountiful harvest month, named for Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor.  Here in the Northern Hemisphere, August is the hottest month of the year and considered the last month of summer. August 11 officially marks the end of the “Dog Days of Summer,” which began on July 3. (Here in Georgia, those “dog days” seem to last quite a bit longer!) As a left-hander, I want to note that August 13 is International Left-Handers Day!

There are flowers that are associated with each month of the year. August’s “birth flowers” are the gladiolus and the poppy. Did you know that there is a language of flowers, and each flower has a meaning?  

Gladiolus symbolizes sincerity, generosity, victory, and strength of character. In the garden, the gladiolus is prized as a cutting flower. I remember my grandmother growing gladiolus in a variety of colors and placing them in vases in the sanctuary before each church service.

The gladiolus (from the Latin, gladius, meaning “sword”) is a member of the Iris family and often called the “sword lily,” because of the sword-like appearance of its leaves. Flower stalks can reach as high as two-five feet, with trumpet-shaped flowers in a variety of colors. Plant gladiolus bulbs in full sun. As the plant grows tall, it may need to be staked to protect it from a strong wind. In our warmer Zone 8a climate, gladiolus bulbs are considered perennial, and will come back each year.

The poppy is a beloved flower that symbolizes remembrance, peace, sleep, resurrection and death. Poppies are often used to remember those lost in war, made famous by the haunting poem by John McCrae, “In Flanders Field,” written in 1915. The first line is visually stunning – “In Flanders Field the poppies blow/Between the crosses row on row.” Later, the poppy became the official flower of the American Legion, and they distribute poppies on Memorial Day.

Poppies can be sown as seeds directly into the garden bed and will easily reseed. They are particularly attractive when sown across a wide area to create a flower “meadow.” Poppies are an important source of pollen for bees, butterflies and other pollinators. 

If you have a loved one celebrating an August birthday, consider giving them a bouquet of the August birth flowers or buy bulbs of gladiolus and packets of poppy seeds for them to plant in their own gardens.