August birth flower: gladiolus and poppy

The story behind the August birth flowers

August's birth flowers are the gladiolus and the poppy. Like the other months, the lists come from England and America, where August is late summer and both flowers are at their height.

Gladiolus takes its name from the Latin for a small sword, after the shape of its leaves, and that is where its meaning of strength of character is said to come from. It isn't in Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers (1884), but the poppy is, with a message for each colour: red for consolation, white for sleep and scarlet for fantastic extravagance. The link with remembrance came later, after the First World War.

In Australia gladioli flower in summer, so they're rarely sold in August. Poppies are a better bet. Iceland poppies are grown here and sold from late winter into spring, though this guide doesn't track them yet. They don't last long, so buy them with the buds just cracking open. Stand them in cool water as soon as they arrive.

For the rest of the bunch, late winter is generous. Wattle is at its best in the run-up to National Wattle Day on 1 September. Daffodils are still in, with the same yellow as a gold poppy. Waxflower fills out a bouquet with small white or pink flowers and suits someone who likes natives. Tulips are still in the buckets too, and yellow tulips with wattle make an easy late-winter pairing.

Gift tip: Daffodil stems ooze a sap that shortens the life of other flowers, so stand them in their own water for a few hours before mixing a bouquet.