May, 1913 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



243 



across. In color the flowers are a delight- 

 ful cream shade with the two lower inside 

 petals or- segments blending to canary 

 yellow. The flower spike is very erect and 

 stout and is wrapped with broad dark green 

 foliage." 



Now to be exact in my own color descrip- 

 tion of this flower, Niagara is of the tone 

 known as Naples yellow (color chart, 

 Jaune de Naples No. 2). Deep in its 

 throat are lines of faintest lilac (color chart, 

 Rose lilace No. 4). These however do not 

 in the least interfere with the general effect 

 of palest yellow or cream given by the whole 

 fine flower. 



Two combinations of Niagara with other 

 flowers flew to my mind, as I held this 

 beauty in my hand. Phlox E. Danzan- 

 villers back of it, Ageratum Stella Gurney 

 below and in front. The phlox can be 

 made to hold its blooms for some time — 

 the ageratum, as we know, is incessant. 

 Again, nothing lovelier, thought I, than 

 Niagara with salpiglossis of that dark 

 velvety mahogany known as Faust; or 

 below Phlox von Hochberg. The color at 

 the base of the gladiolus, slight though it is 

 is very little lighter than the wine-purple 

 of this phlox itself. - Lovely too should 

 Niagara be with all lavender hardy asters, 

 especially with that of the barren name of 

 James Gauly. 



Panama, a sister of Niagara was the 

 third captivator of the gladiolus show. I 

 here declare, speaking with all possible 

 calmness, that it is the softest and most 

 charming tone of pronounced rose-pink 

 1 have ever noticed in a flower. It makes 

 one think of roses, of the best roses, parti- 

 cularly of Mrs. John Laing, and while I 

 have never fancied the idea which obtains 



here and there of growing gladioli among 

 roses, because of the leggy look of both 

 roses and gladioli at their best, yet if it 

 must be done, Panama is the flower to 

 place in our rose beds! The pink of 

 Panama is that called mauve rose (color 

 chart, Rose malvace No. 2). Almost in- 

 visible markings there are, deep in its throat 

 of purple carmine (Carmin pourpre No. 2). 

 -A setting of lyme grass, Elymus arenarius 

 is suggested with perhaps near by a few 

 blooms of the new decussata phlox of lus- 

 cious pink, Elizabeth Campbell. While the 

 phlox is. lighter in tone than the gladiolus, 

 the pinks are of precisely the same type, 

 for I have compared the living flowers. 

 Verbena Dolores might furnish the base of 

 this planting to charming advantage. 



With the older gladiolus, Peace, Dawn 

 and Afterglow we have a sextette of what 

 seemed to me the most beautiful of the 

 newer gladiolus, America excepted, but 

 America is now established. It will be 

 noticed too that I am far too modest to 

 describe my own beautiful namesake, but 

 I own to such a prejudice in favor of this 

 flower and its brilliant and unmatchable 

 flame pink, that I could not under the cir- 

 cumstances write dispassionately of it. 



The above mentioned sextette then, I 

 would say, comprises several of the newer 

 varieties of gladiolus whose interesting color 

 and fine form fit them particularly for garden 

 groupings of originality and charm. Of 

 other fine varieties I shall presently speak, 

 but these are really marvellous for beauty. 

 One has but to see them to feel ideas for 

 placing them, flocking like sea gulls, 

 softly to one's brain. Next year, oh, next 

 year! 



It is impossible to overpraise the cool 



elegance of gladiolus Peace. Its flowers 

 are milky-white (color chart, Blanc de 

 lait No. 1) with well-defined narrow stripes 

 on the lower petals, far back in the throat, 

 of rosy magenta (color chart, Magenta 

 rougeatre No. 1). The variety is said to be 

 unsurpassed for cutting as the flowers keep 

 well in water, and buds will open the entire 

 length of the spike. Peace is surely the 

 noblest white gladiolus. Its large flower, 

 the slender violet markings so well within 

 the throat that there is hardly an effect 

 of color, gives one the impression of a pure 

 white spike of bloom which had once 

 looked upon an evening sky. 



Two gladiolus with charmingly suggestive 

 names are Dawn and Afterglow; Dawn, 

 the lovely and poetic both in name and in 

 look, has for its general color salmon car- 

 mine (color chart, Carmin saumone No. 

 1). In my own tongue I should call this 

 flower suffused with delicatest coral-pink — 

 the buds like the palest coral from Naples 

 — these buds, too, gracefully drooping with 

 a large softness peculiarly their own. Dawn 

 — what suggestion in the name! Dawn 

 rising among well established groups of the 

 Japanese anemones Whirlwind or Beaute 

 Parfaite! Dawn, with the salmon pink ger- 

 anium Beaute Poitevine! Dawn, in con- 

 junction with Niagara — all these are sure 

 to prove arrangements to charm one's eye 

 in mid-summer. There is a salmon pink 

 balsam above which Dawn might be en- 

 chanting. Afterglow greatly caught my 

 fancy. In general tone it is a flesh pink 

 (color chart, Rose carne No. 4) , with throat 

 markings very apparent, lilac purple (chart, 

 Fuchsine No. 4). A rich salmon of gener- 

 ally the same tone in all its flowers would 

 be my own description of it. 



Gandavensis type, suitable to most situa- 

 tions, (Dawn) 



Vanceianus type. This has the great- 

 est range of colorings 



Childsi type, large flowered, with extreme 

 range of color 



Brenchleyensis. scarlet, the 

 old small flowered form 



