IT'S AUGUST, ALTHOUGH YOU WOULDN'T KNOW IT BY THE LUSH FOLIAGE

How can it be August so soon? Where has the summer gone? Such a short time ago it was Valentine's Day, Easter and Independence Day?

In spite of the high temperatures, August is still a busy time in the garden and with garden activities.

This is the weekend of the Japanese Festival at Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. This festival has become a tradition there and is in its 18th year. This season other festivals have been added so visitors can enjoy the splendor and diversity of the world's many cultures.

The Greek Festival runs next weekend, Aug. 8 and 9. The Native American Festival is August 15 and 16 and the Italian Festival runs August 22 and 23.

Each festival will present entertainment, crafts and foods of their international culture. Hours are from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.

This August is unusual because its predecesor, July, was such a generous month and gave us ample rainfall. Now the grass is still green, trees have lush green growth and flower beds are abundant with blooms. This is not true many years at this time when the area has been plagued with dry, hot weather and little or no rainfall.

While we are on the subject of rainfall, let me tell you about rain lilies. This little rosy-pink (Zephyranthes) grows about 8 inches tall and bears solitary upward facing blooms that are delicate and sweet looking. The mystery of these little fellows is that one can water and water them, but to no avail. Just as soon as it rains however, buds shoot up from the ground and after two or three days disappear.

We have tried to fool them, but no way. We have even tried to use rain water, but to no avail. They will not bloom. It takes the real rain from the sky before they respond. I have asked my horticultural friends and they agree it is something in the rain, maybe oxygen, that triggers their bloom buds.

These little plant mysteries may be found under the names of rain lilies, zephyr lilies or fairy lilies.

Another mystery lily that gives pleasure this time of the year is the magic lily. It is often called spider lily, magic lily, naked lily or resurrection lily.

These are lovely amaryllis-like flowers of lavendar-pink with some tones of blue and are most fragrant on about two-foot stalks. The foliage comes up in early spring and looks much like the foliage of daffodils, which are usually coming up at the same time. Then the foliage turns brown and dies back to the ground.

Around this time of the year they pop from the ground suddenly and unexpectedly on tall leafless stems, and often are in full bloom before they are noticed. When one says they can see them grow, this is not much of an exaggeration because they often grow as much as 12 to 18 inches in one day.

Natives of Japan, they also come in white, yellow and red. We have tried the red (radiata) but they are not as hardy as the pink.

These bulbs multiply rapidly, but need a year to get established after they have been planted. Here, they have come up in many places where we did not plant them. The friendly squirrels may have helped distribute them, or they may have been mixed with daffodils bulbs when these were dug for replanting.

The magic lilies are early this year and because of the good rains they seem to be coming up more at the same time. In years of drought, their buds have had difficulty in piercing the hard earth crust which forms.

From my very good friend, Dorothy Knehans, a former resident of Cape and former president of Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri, I profited much from her knowledge and skill. She was an accredited flower arranger and flower show judge. An artist, she had unusual talent in combining different plant materials and flowers. She combined magic lilies with the dark red foliage of Purple Ruffles basil in bouquets.

While in San Miguel, Mexico, where she often spent her winters, she delighted the worshipers at the Episcopal Church with her artistic arrangements on the altar. These flowers she bought at the open market for about $2 or $3.

This is also a good time of the year to divide poppies. New growth ends when Oriental poppies have finished blooming and the plants become dormant during August. At this time poppies may be dug and divided if they have become crowded and then replanted in new locations. Just before new growth begins is the ideal time to separate and transplant. With a sharp knife cut between the new shoots, leaving a good sized division.

When moving a poppy without dividing it, dig down about 18 inches to get a good portion of the long roots. Handle carefully to retain as much of the root as possible. Handle carefully to retain as much soil as possible.

Oriental poppies are heavy feeders and usually stay in one site for years. They prefer an open, sunny position in good, deep, well drained soil.

HAPPY GARDENING!