Nature Speaks: August’s abundant harvests encourage summer’s graceful surrender

Late Summer Asters

Article and photos by Jennifer Rotermund

There is a force within that gives you life —

Seek that.

In your body there lies a priceless jewel —

Seek that.

Oh, wandering Sufi.

If you are in search of the greatest treasure,

don’t look outside,

Look within, and seek That.

—Rumi, translated by Jonathan Star

In my twice daily ritual of gratitude (mornings and evenings), a repeated item on my list is that the cycle of life is a circle and not a straight line. I’m grateful that as we begin something new, we find ourselves embracing the conclusion of something else. That each conclusion brings the opportunity to begin some new chapter instantly gives me hope, and allows me to breathe again. August feels this way to me. June and July’s long daylight hours and frenetic pace are often more than I can manage gracefully. Air and Fire elements dominate in a way that feels wild and hot and free - and wonderful in its own way. But, it isn’t until August’s arrival that I feel grounded again and somehow finally ready for Summer to begin. Yet here we are at the season’s eventide.

Black-Eyed Susans

Beginnings and endings appear perfectly paired in August for a dance of life that is choreographed specifically for this time of year. We begin August with Lughnasadh (Lammas), the Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Despite the heat of Summer, this is the end of a growing season that began in February. The green leafy vegetables I planted from April through June are now bolting and flowering. My onions and potatoes are finally ripening. Most of my ornamental flowers have gone to seed, and my deciduous trees and shrubs have begun to show off their early Fall colors. In the month where a backyard hammock seems like the most appropriate destination, it is in fact the time to get to work planting the next round of seeds and starts for the Fall harvest and for over-wintering. And so the cycle continues.

But do not despair. The ancient celebration of Lughnasadh gave birth to the modern-day country fair, which reminds us that there is still time to celebrate and be merry. The days are still long and the harvest season marks a time of abundance in life. The Rose of Sharon trees have just begun to bloom. This is the time of the Black-Eyed Susan, Penstemon, Agastache, Fuchsia and Cone Flower.  

Native Pearly Everlasting in a Mugo Pine

All of my Mint plants are now providing lavender-colored flowers for blissed-out bees. The native Asters and Pearly Everlasting are enjoying their moment of glory. Go to any local nursery and you will see that this isn’t the end of the season, but the beginning of the next round of exciting bloom. I’m so grateful for that beautiful, nurturing and glorious cycle that is life. How ceaselessly it inspires awe and wonder in its many transformations - especially in August. 

Special Note: I dedicate this article to anyone who has ever struggled or is struggling with depression. I have. In fact, throughout my life I’ve found January and August to be the two most difficult months to face - specifically, I believe, due to the deeply rooted aspects of change and transformation that are found at the very core of these two times of year. It’s all too easy, in times of change, to lose track of our own center of gravity, our own core, our own path. At those times when I begin to feel lost or even a little bit “off,” I turn to nature. For in nature, I find reflected the deep beauty that is within me - within each of us …. that deep beauty and inner light that is all too easily forgotten in our daily modern life, yet which is always there.

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Jennifer Rotermund is the owner of Gaiaceous Gardens (an urban farming and wildlife gardening business with a teaching garden/urban farm and certified wildlife habitat/ sacred sanctuary located in Shoreline). She is a Permaculture Designer, is certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Habitat Steward and serves as a Docent at the Kruckeberg Garden. She is also an ordained minister with a particular focus on earth-based forms of spirituality.