For March, l<)20 



101 



The Gladiolus 



KATHRYN BEACH TRACY 



U firi^^hiiirss — slandiiiii jor truth like a tower. 

 Dii^nity — syiiibul of lionoy and pozcer, 

 Beauty, that blooms in tlic ultimate flozver. 

 Could anything be more perfectly descriptive of the 

 Gladiolus? Conceded to be the comini^ garden flower, 

 it is each year in greater demand for gardens and for 



Crimson Clozv — A Gloiviii:^ Red Floivcr. 



forcing. It stands alone as a super-satisfactory garden 

 asset. A wealth of bloom rewards a minimum of labor 

 and expense, the freedom from insect pests assures suc- 

 cess to the amateur arwl the glory and charm of each 

 flowering spike fully repays all efforts. 



Thirty, even twenty years ago, the word Gladiolus 

 suggested nothing but the small red Gladiolus Brenchlcy- 

 ensis, a variety still used with etifect in large i)lant- 

 ings, but far outclassed by the modern type of this 

 magnificent flower. .Small wonder that having grown it 

 once successfully, the amateur is ever after an enthusiast. 



Assuming that the reader knows something of the 

 incomparable beauty of this garden favorite, let us con- 

 sider a few Gladiolus jjlantings of real charm. 



.\.gainst a backgroimd of the gray-green foliage and 

 fragrant mauve trusses of Biiddleia. tall spikes of 

 Gladiolus Loveliness with glistening white Lily Lehman 

 bloomed above a carpet of purple Verbena. In another 



veined, beneath which sjiread a carpet of bluest of blue 

 Lobelia. 



Blue gardens are sometimes hungry for a touch of 

 other color, which only makes the blue more telling. 

 Pink, white and yellow may always be used to splendid 

 effect and the tall flowers of the tjladiolus show to such 

 advantage. 



In a border planting, where all the blues of the Del- 

 phiniums ran riot. Gladiolus Daybreak, orchidlike in 

 form and texture came into bloom with the second flower- 

 ing of the Delphiniums, and the blue and the shell pink 

 of Daybreak were both finer for the combination. 



I know that reds are now generally shut out of the 

 modern gardens, but when we consider the gorgeous 

 sight of flaming swords of Gladiolus Mrs. Francis King, 

 or the glowing red of Crimson Glow, piercing through 

 masses of Liliuin auratum, the tribute to the planter's art 

 is enough to warrant a place in every garden. 



Rnuiih Torch — Large Creamy White Plozeer. 



Althdugli there is a great demand for large flowered 

 yellows the demand is correspondingly hard to satisfy, 

 corner among white lilies, Gladiolus LTmmaculce, purest Golden Measure, magnificent but ])rohibitive in price, 

 white, with the rich, exotic bufif of Gladiolus Niagara heads the list with Mongolian, Schwaben, Yellow Prince, 

 were friendly associates with deep blue .?alpii;lossis, gold (Continued on page 107) 



