May, 1919 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



165 



Gladiolus America, one of 

 the most popular pinks for 

 cut flowers 



the ideal summer time, 

 thatabunchof itshould 

 be in every garden. 



The rival of Mrs. 

 Frank Pendleton for the 

 honor of Queen Beauty 

 of this beautiful throng, 

 is Loveliness, and 

 truly a lovely thing it 

 is having none of the 

 garish brilliancy of the 

 Pendleton, but display- 

 ing colors of tenderness 

 and delicacy that ap- 

 peal to the love of 

 refined things that is 

 in most of us. These 

 colors are a combina- 

 tion of rich pink and 

 cream, which shades to 

 a soft rosy pink in the 

 centre of the petals. 

 The blossoms are large 

 and graceful and are 

 well set on a tall and 

 strong stem. 



Of reds there are a 

 large number, though 

 they differ widely either 

 in tone or in form of blossom. The brightest 

 scarlet is Comanche and next to that in 

 intensity are Nezinscott, Mrs. Fryer, and 

 Electra the last named being the finest. 

 For out-of-door effect the old Brenchleyensis, 

 scarlet, and Independence, flame pink, are 

 especially good. A bunch of deeper tone — all 

 of them rich, but bright, red — are Appollo, 

 Cherry King, Ida Van, Meteor and Navajo, 

 with Navajo likely to win the most 

 votes in a competition. All of this 

 bunch bear blossoms of good size of 

 which a number are out at once, and 

 being provided with strong straight 

 stems they always make a satisfactory 

 appearance. A newer red, Hazel Har- 

 vey gives promise of much merit. 



Of deep crimsons the leader is the 

 well known George Paul, bearing large, 

 rich blossoms. A group that display a 

 brighter crimson — an especially rich and 

 beautiful tone — are Mrs. Moulton, 

 Mrs. Watt, and Montana, the last 

 two being almost identical. Many per- 

 sons who saw these at the flower shows 

 of recent years considered their color 

 more beautiful than that of any other 

 sort on exhibition. It is certainly most 

 attractive. 



There are several red Gladiolus that 

 are so dark in tone that at a little dis- 

 tance they appear black. The best of 

 these are Deuil de Carnot, Empress 

 of India, Alice Chamberlain, and 

 Pawnee. Alice Chamberlain wears the 

 darkest shade, but the flowers are small; 

 Pawnee produces the largest flowers, 

 the petals of which are thick and vel- 

 vety and of a deep brownish red. 



A S YET the hybridizers have not 

 ■^*- succeeded in producing a really 

 blue Gladiolus, but in trying for it they 

 have given us a number with blossoms 

 of lilac, violet and bluish lavender tone, 

 several of which have decided merit. surely 

 Florence is the most satisfactory lilac, plants 

 and in violet the lead is taken by King - 

 of the Violets and Baron Joseph Hulot, both 

 of them rich purplish violet. A satisfactory blue- 

 lavender is Blue Jay wearing a costume of laven- 

 der and white that is striking The flowers are 

 large and are well set on a tall, strong stem. 



There are a number of other purple sorts that 

 are highly recommended in the catalogues but they 

 are not entirely satisfactory when grown. The 



most that can be said for them is that they may 

 be made useful in adding variety to the garden 

 colors, and in forming combinations for house 

 decoration they are highly valuable. Among 

 these are Violet Perfection, La Nuit, Helio- 

 trope, Goliath Amethist, Dick, Azure, and 

 Blue King. 



Of pink lavenders we have several fine sorts. 

 The delicate tone of Mary Fennell combined 

 with the patch of primrose, delicately lined with 

 lavender, which appears on the lower petal, has 

 placed this variety among the queens. But 

 though the blossom of this beauty indicates 

 delicacy, the plant is robust and easily grown. 



In Rosella we have a pink-lavender of deep 

 rich tone — the color called "rose-red" in the 

 French books. Mrs. Francis King, the well 

 known authority on garden flowers, described 

 Rosella as "a lovely thing," and those familiar 

 with these blossoms think Mrs. King was none 

 too generous in her praise. The blossoms are 

 large, and of graceful form, and when the plant 

 is in full bloom it makes a delightful addition 

 to the garden. 



An unusual effect is produced by the artistic 

 coloring of Desdemone — a French production. 

 The dominating hue is ashy rose — a real pastelle 

 — suffused with pale yellow and violet, the lower 

 petals bearing a patch of crimson margined with 

 buffish white. The flowers are large, lily like 

 in form and well set on a tall spike. 



A brilliant, almost dazzling combination of 

 color is found in Mephistopheles, which carries 

 vivid red, crimson and yellow in great splashes. 



The best available yellow Gladiolus, the 

 variety that yields the best yellow color, is 

 Sulphur King. The blooms are small, but 

 they are well shaped and well set on a straight 



jfilili^tiiir 



Gladiolus Niagara, nankeen 

 yellow is a recognized favorite 

 for decorative work 



flowered yellows of 

 sterling merit are Ca- 

 nary Bird and Spring 

 Song, the latter wear- 

 ing delicate tracings of 

 pink on a patch of 

 bright yellow. 



An interesting flower 

 of yellow color is the 

 recently discovered 

 species Primulinus — 

 found by some English 

 engineers in South 

 Africa. The blossoms 

 are small but of ex- 

 ceptionally graceful 

 form — distinctly differ- 

 ent from that of all 

 other Gladiolus. The 

 petals are rather nar- 

 row and hang close to- 

 gether, excepting the 

 central petal of the 

 major segment, which 

 droops forward, form- 

 ing a "hood." The 

 spike is exceptionally 

 slender and the blos- 

 soms are widely sep- 

 arated on it, giving the entire plant a dainty 

 and graceful appearance. This dainty plant 

 has been cross-pollinated with several of the 

 large-flowered strong-stemmed sorts, producing 

 a group that is highly prized. They lose a little of 

 the daintiness of the smaller parent, but they 

 retain the "hood" and the slender spike and gain 

 in colors of most artistic beauty, many of them 

 being of wonderful new shades. They are usually 

 catalogued as "Primulinus Hybrids." 

 You will want some white varieties 

 both for garden effect and for cutting. 

 Very satisfactory garden sorts are Reine 

 Blanche and Glory of Holland, grow- 

 ing on tall stems that are strong and 

 straight. Peace is a splendid variety 

 for the garden. The flowers are ex- 

 tremely large and well shaped, and the 

 stem is tall and strong. But the color is 

 not white for it is strongly suffused 

 with a bluish tinge. Rochester White 

 is a good sort, and does well for cutting. 

 Lili Lehmann is fine for cutting and is 

 a beauty. The color is a pure white, 

 and the form of the flower is most 

 graceful. The individual blossom, con- 

 sidering color and form, will rank among 

 the finest of Gladiolus beauties. 



A pair of exquisite white flowers are 

 Elizabeth Kurtz and Jessie Palmer. 

 The color of the latter is of pure glisten- 

 ing tone which is enhanced by a wide line 

 of vivid carmine drawn through the lower 

 petal. The effect of this strong contrast 

 is striking and delightful. 



The very best white at present availa- 

 ble, when color only is considered, is Eu- 

 ropa, but it is so difficult to grow — so 

 difficult to make it do its best — thatitcan 

 not be recommended to]any but an exper- 

 ienced gardener. I planted it three years 

 before obtaining one spike that was at 

 all good, but then! Ah — ! 



objection sometimes raised that Gladiolus is loo stiff for ordinary garden use in 

 upset by this picture Plant the bulbs in small groups among the other border 

 to help out succession of bloom 



strong stem. Of paler yellows there are several. 

 Outside of the high priced group — the "elite" — 

 Niagara is the most satisfactory. The hue is a 

 pure nankeen, with some lines of red in the 

 throat. As the flowers are unusually large *and 

 several open together the effect is fine. Golden 

 King displays a good strong yellow, with a deep 

 red patch on the lower petals. Two small 



'TTIIS ends the list of Gladiolus that we 

 ■*■ recommend to the gardener who de- 

 sires a good assortment that can be ob- 

 tained at a reasonable price. The rarer 

 and more expensive sorts have been omitted, 

 though among them are flowers of great beauty — 

 flowers that are vexatiously tempting — and for 

 the benefit of those readers who delight in the 

 rarer things, reference must be made elsewhere. 



Editors* Note. Previous articles by Mr. Chamberlain dealing with 

 other phases of the selection of varieties are as follows: Varieties 

 for the Novice, May, 1918; Rare Varieties for the ..Connoisseur, 

 August, 1916, 



