August has a different feel to the rest of summer — the light softens, the season starts to turn, and two very different flowers come into their own. If your birthday falls in August, or you are buying for someone whose does, you have two beautiful flowers to choose from, and each one carries a meaning worth knowing.

August's birth flowers could hardly be more different from one another, which is part of what makes them so lovely to have as a pair. Here is the story behind both, along with August's birthstone, and how they each find their way into the jewellery.

August's first birth flower — the poppy

The poppy — August's first birth flower, a symbol of beauty, strength and love

The poppy is one of the most delicate-looking flowers there is — papery, almost translucent petals that seem as though a breeze could take them. And yet it is remarkably resilient, self-seeding in the most unlikely corners of a garden, a verge, even a crack in a pavement.

That contrast is exactly where its meaning as a birth flower comes from. As an August birth flower, the poppy stands for beauty, strength and love, all held in something that looks, at first glance, as though it might blow away.

What I love about the poppy as a design is that quiet contradiction. It looks soft, but it holds its own — which feels like a lovely thing to carry with you.

Poppy birth flower pendant, hand-engraved in sterling silver

August's second birth flower — the gladiolus

The gladiolus — August's second birth flower, standing for strength, generosity and honesty

Where the poppy is soft, the gladiolus is architectural. Its tall spires can reach well over a metre, each stem lined with blooms that open gradually from the bottom up, so a single stalk keeps giving for weeks.

The name comes from the Latin gladius, meaning sword, after the shape of its leaves — and strength, generosity and honesty are the meanings that have followed it ever since.

It is a flower that gives generously and stands its ground, which is a lovely thing to carry if it is your birth flower, or the birth flower of someone you are choosing this for.

Gladiolus birth flower pendant, hand-engraved in sterling silver

Two flowers, one month

Having two birth flowers to choose from is one of the nicest things about an August birthday. Some people feel drawn to the poppy, others to the gladiolus, and many like to wear both together — the soft flower and the bold one, side by side.

There is no right answer. The meaning you take from each flower matters more than any rule, and both belong equally to August.

August's birthstone — the peridot

Alongside the two flowers, August also carries its own birthstone Peridot, a soft, warm green that always feels right for this time of year. In our birthstone pieces, peridot is always set as a genuine gemstone — never glass or synthetic — so if August's stone means something to you, you can be confident of exactly what you are wearing.

Peridot — August's birthstone, set as a genuine gemstone in every piece

A meaningful August birthday gift

If you are looking for an August birthday gift for someone special — a mum, a daughter, a friend, a grandmother — a birth flower piece is a thoughtful way to mark it. Rather than something forgotten in a drawer, it is a small, personal thing she can wear every day, carrying her own birth month, or the months of the people she loves.

That is really the heart of why birth flower jewellery means so much to people. It is not only beautiful; it holds a connection to someone.

Wearing your August birth flowers

However you choose to mark an August birthday, the poppy and the gladiolus both translate beautifully into a piece you can wear every day. Each birth flower design is my own — hand-drawn and unique to my studio in County Down. You can choose it as a hand-stamped pendant, struck by hand from my own metal stamp, or engraved onto a smooth disc, in sterling silver or gold filled.

You might choose a single poppy pendant, pair both August flowers on a bracelet, or add an August flower to a family piece alongside the birth months of the people you love. Every piece is made to order, so it can be exactly the flower, or flowers, that mean the most.

August birth flower bracelet — wear both flowers together on a paperclip chain

Carrying August close

If you would like to carry an August birth flower with you — your own, or someone else's — you will find the full range in the birth flower collection at rebeccamayjewellery.com. Whichever flower speaks to you, I hope it helps you hold someone a little closer.