July birth flowers: larkspur and water lily
The traditional birth flowers for July, what they meant in the Victorian language of flowers, and how to grow them.
Larkspur
Delphinium ajacis (syn. Consolida ajacis)
An annual up to 1m tall with finely divided, feathery leaves and loose spikes of spurred flowers, usually deep blue but also pink or white, in summer. (RHS)
In the language of flowers
“Lightness. Levity.” (Greenaway). Dumont says “Lightness” and, in his main entry, “Flights of fancy”.
Growing it
Sow outdoors in fall where winters are mild, or in early spring further north, in full sun and loose, moist soil that drains well. It flowers from June to August in Missouri and is hardy throughout the UK.
Take care: Its leaves, flowers and seeds are toxic if eaten. (Missouri Botanical Garden)
Sources: RHS, Missouri Botanical Garden
Water lily (in Britain, the white water lily, Nymphaea alba)
Nymphaea
An aquatic plant with round floating leaves and, in summer, white flowers up to 20cm wide with golden stamens, cup-shaped at first and star-shaped later. (RHS)
In the language of flowers
“Purity of heart” (Greenaway).
Growing it
Grow in still water in full sun: plant in a basket of loamy soil set 15 to 25cm under the surface, then lower it as the plant establishes. The white water lily is hardy in most places in the UK, even in severe winters.
Sources: RHS
About birth flowers
Birth flowers are a tradition, not a rule: lists vary a little, and no one body sets them. The meanings here come from two Victorian flower dictionaries, Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers (1884) and Henrietta Dumont’s The Language of Flowers (1851). Both are free to read on Project Gutenberg.
How each flower looks and grows comes from the Royal Horticultural Society and the Missouri Botanical Garden, linked under each flower. Where US and UK names differ, the US name comes first.