August brings Sincerity!

The birth flower for the month of August is the Gladiolus. Who doesn’t remember agricultural fairs where bouquets of colourful glads were compared and judged for ribbons and trophies. These stiffly upright summer annuals grow from corms planted in the previous fall. 

They are only half-hardy here. Gladiolus, the word is a diminutive of sword, from gladius. Some even call the flowers the sword lily. Rightfully they are closer aligned with irises, belonging to that family. Their centre of origin is sub-Saharan Africa and they are included in the Cape Province flora.

In the conservative Language of Flowers, the gladiolus symbolizes strength of character and means Sincerity. Both noble qualities befitting the noble summer bloom.