Uses of the Gladioli 
T HINGS happen so quietly in the 
floral world that the general pub¬ 
lic knows little about the develop¬ 
ment along some special line; and this is 
very noticeably true of the gladiolus— 
the aristocrat of the summer garden, the 
good old-fashioned “gladiola” of our 
grandmothers’ gardens. From the time 
that M. Souchet, the gardener for 
Napoleon III, introduced the gladiolus 
as a florist s flower, the progress in its 
culture and development has been most 
remarkable. The results of the outpour¬ 
ings of nature s horn of plenty are shown 
in no flower more than in the gladiolus, 
and the garden glory of this magnificent 
flower, no longer called “too stiff,” 
makes it a pleasure all through the 
summer. 
This modern gladiolus is a flower of 
the future, for though much is known of 
it as a florist s flower, its possibilities as 
a decorative asset in both homes and 
gardens is as yet little known or appre¬ 
ciated. It is perhaps more essentially a 
cut flower, but most satisfactory effects 
may be achieved by judicious planting. 
Planted in clumps in front of shrub¬ 
bery, or in the hardy border, they will 
give a mass of color from early July until 
cut down by the first envious frost, this 
continued period of bloom being made 
possible by successive plantings, or by 
planting different sized bulbs. In this 
position nothing gives greater satisfac¬ 
tion than the brilliant rose of Gladiolus 
Independence, which in coloring and last- 
