The Glory of the Garden 
■ F IT be that Gladioli have as yet found no place in your garden, my message to you 
is very personal indeed, and I hope I may help you to feel the same love for them that 
so many of my friends express. Gladioli are so regal in their beauty that they grace 
the costliest gardens; so democratic in their demands that the veriest amateur cannot 
fail of a wealth of beauty in form and exquisite hues such as no other flowers, save the rare 
exotics of the orchid-house, can hope even to approach, much less to rival. 
It is not every flower that the 
amateur can grow quite as success¬ 
fully as the specialist. In fact, I 
know of very few such, and none of 
these to so marked a degree as is the 
case with Gladioli. That is why I 
always think of them as “The Peo¬ 
ple’s Flower”—The flower 0/ the 
people and for the people; ready to 
adapt themselves to any circum¬ 
stances, throwing up their sturdy 
green flags, and valiantly holding 
their own in the face of what to other 
plants would be the most adverse 
conditions; crowning all with great 
spikes of blossoms, which for beauty, 
purity of colors and variety of mark¬ 
ings are beyond everything else in 
the garden. 
The pleasure to be derived from 
a flower-garden is in direct propor¬ 
tion to the returns in quantity and 
quality of the blossoms, plus free¬ 
dom from perpetual battle against 
insect foes and disease. In this re¬ 
spect Gladioli stand almost alone. 
They require no attention save to 
be kept free of weeds and, like all 
plants, to be watered in periods of 
protracted drought. The foliage is 
singularly resistant to insects and 
blight of all kinds. Unlike the rose 
and many other flowers, the buds 
and blossoms are never attacked. 
Once the flower-stalks have formed, 
you can confidentially count on each 
bud to open into a full, perfect bloom. 
Gladioli require no nursing, no 
special feeding, no spraying or dust¬ 
ing with insecticide. From the time 
they first thrust their green lances 
above the ground they retain their 
deep, wholesome, healthy color until 
the coming of frost. Vigor and sturdy 
strength are denoted at the appear- 
t . ance of the broad blades,—and they 
Peace—the grandest white. A Groff hybrid which should be in every • vJanrniN iiiQt pq efnrdv aq 
garden. It is the grandest of all Gladioli (see page 12) JUSt as \IgOrOUS, JUSt as Sturdy, as 
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