I FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL 
1 GROWERS OF THE GLADIOLUS, DAHLIA, IRIS, ETC. 
Entered as second-class matter March 31, 1914, at post office at 
Calcium, N.Y., under act of March 3, 1879. 
f PUBLISHED MONTHLY ON THE FIRST OF THE j 
1 MONTH BY MADISON COOPER, CALCIUM, N. Y. j 
Subscription price : Three years, $2.00 ; One year, $1.00. 

Planning Gladiolus Planting for Color Effect. 
[ 14/ ritten expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
U IFTS THAT GROW are best.” 
I Some oft-repeated statements 
merely sound true. Others 
really are true. In my ex- 
perience this one has proved to contain 
a big element of truth. As there pass 
before my mind a long list of gifts 
that have brought me lasting pleasure, 
I count not a few that have literally 
been gifts that grew, and one of these 
was a wonderful box of Gladiolus 
bulbs. I cannot speak of this particu- 
lar gift as “corms.” My box came in 
the spring, but its welcome had been 
prepared the summer before by the 
arrival of another big express package. 
This contained great spikes of bloom- 
pink, white, rose, crimson, scarlet and 
soft blues and lavenders. I had never 
before possessed such a wealth of 
color. 
I planted my bulbs with high hopes, 
but with some misgivings also. I 
could not be quite sure that anything 
I might plant could produce such won- 
derful flowers. But my hopes were 
realized, and from that time to this I 
have planted Gladiolus bulbs without 
misgivings. I still have descendants 
of those first bulbs, transplanted from 
Illinois to Minnesota ; but each year 
new varieties have been added to my 
store. And so every summer I look 
forward to the arrival of old friends 
and watch anxiously for new faces. 
I plant my bulbs for two distinct 
uses. Hundreds are lined out in rows 
in the garden, where they can have the 
sun all day and can be easily cultivated. 
These are for cut flowers, for my 
friends’ houses as well as my own must 
be made bright with their blooms. 
Others go into the borders. Here, if 
well placed, they add color and state- 
liness during the latter part of sum- 
mer and throughout the fall. 
I have found that it takes consider- 
able thought and experience to get en- 
tirely satisfying results from border 
plantings. Background, foreground, 
color combinations, season of bloom, 
By Chestine Gowdy, (Minnesota.) 
possibilities of sunshine, all must be 
taken into account. Each year I try to 
get some new and pleasing effect. This 
year I accomplished a beauty spot that 
GLADIOLUS— MRS. W. E. FRYER 
(left and right.) 
GLADIOLUS— WILLIS E. FRYER 
(center.) 
This photograph was made from bulblet 
grown stock, and, therefore, does not do justice 
to either one of the varieties illustrated. Both 
these varieties were originated by A. E. Kunderd, 
Goshen, Ind. 
Mrs. W. E. Fryer is a very showy orange scarlet 
variety and especially valuable as a bedding plant, 
having a spreading habit of growth and with 
beautiful dark green foliage. 
The variety Willis E. Fryer is a large, deep 
violet. It is a tall, strong grower and a good 
multiplier. 
was a joy for at least two months. 
I chose an open spot in the border with 
only a shrub or two in the rear. For 
the foreground of this part of the 
border, I had already planted perennial 
Phlox. There were several of the best 
pinks, shading from blush to a bright 
rose, and a few plants of pure white. 
For a background, I set one early 
Cosmos, and the Asparagus bed hap- 
pened to be behind them. Between 
the Cosmos and the Phlox I planted my 
group of bulbs. 
There were in the neighborhood of 
a hundred of them and I placed them 
about four inches apart. For the most 
part they were inexpensive varieties. 
I wanted good color and succession of 
bloom ; but I couldn’t risk rare sorts 
where they would not have the best 
garden conditions. There were Chicago 
White and Peace for early and late 
white; Glory for cream; America for 
pale pink ; Taconic for deeper pink ; 
Independence , cheap but softly brilliant; 
and a few bulbs of Dawn, a bright 
coral pink. Not one of the real scarlets 
was admitted to this company. They 
have their place, but they did not be- 
long here. 
So far I had planned for results. 
But one of the happy accidents that 
sometimes befall the gardener made 
the whole thing perfect. The year 
before, I had had a few plants of 
Snow-on-the-Mountain in the neighbor- 
hood ; and seedlings came up among 
the Phlox plants and in front of them. 
These softened the somewhat stiff 
foliage and stems of the Phlox, and 
blended the colors in an indescribable 
fashion. 
I still have the picture with me — all 
pink and white, and rose and soft 
green. The stately spikes of Gladioli 
surrounded by the feathery foliage and 
delicate flowers of Cosmos, Asparagus, 
Phlox and Snow-on-the-Mountain. Not 
far off, a few sprays of sky blue Lark- 
spur, the late crop of bloom, give the 
needed contrasting but harmonizing 
note. As I write, I look from my window 
to the snow-covered spot where all this 
loveliness was, and I plan for another 
summer. 
