The Arizona Temple 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 
Mesa, Arizona. April 4, 1937 
Mr. Cecil Houdyshel 
La Verne, Calif. 
Dear Sir: 
It is quite human for us to like to hear about the success of others with 
our product. This is especially true with Gardners, Seedsmen and Nurserymen. 
We all like appreciation and encouragement in our effort to produce the best 
in quality and value. 
1 had such wonderful success with the Ranunculus bulbs purchased from 
you that I want to tell you about it. 
I planted 1,000 bulbs around the pool directly in front of the Temple. 
When they bloomed they made the most wonderful display of color I have ever 
seen, and such flowers! All the colors of the rainbow, reds, pinks, yellows, 
orange, white and variegated. Some looked like roses, others like camelias, 
poppies or big yellow daffodils. There were other shapes too and some were 
as round as a ball and at least 4 in. across. 
Hundreds of people visit the Temple Gardens and they raved over these 
flowers. 
I think I made a record with this planting. Out of the 1,000 bulbs planted, 
999 grew. Some record don’t you think? 
Wishing you well in your efforts, 1 am 
Very truly yours, 
L. V. Guthrie 
Gardener for Arizona Temple 
We have received hundreds of letters telling of success in growing our 
Ranunculus. At the same time probably not over three to six reported failure, 
and one customer condemned the bulbs and buys no more. This last one too 
had grown our Ranunculus successfully many times before. She had the same 
bulbs that Mr. Guthrie had. 
The causes of failure are sometimes evasive. It can happen to a careful 
gardener. It is easy to grow bulbs but not so easy that one can afford to over¬ 
look or neglect essential details. 
Now some catalogs might not tell you that failure may happen. It may 
not be good sales psychology but it is a fact you should remember and try to 
avoid. If the driver of a wrecked automobile had in mind the things that can 
happen he might have avoided the accident. 
When results are not up to your expectations try to determine what was 
wrong in your method. Only in very rare cases are the seeds or bulbs at fault. 
In such a case an honest dealer will And out about it about as soon as you do. 
Other people will report it and he will have planted a test lot. He will gladly 
replace the bulbs. 
But a naturally disagreeable person will only think of writing a disagree¬ 
able letter. He should remember that the dealer has hundreds of other reports. 
If a vast majority is against him he only shows himself up. 
A good gardener must be a good “Trouble Shooter” and an alibi is usually 
only self delusion. It only helps the self esteem, the “I never make mistakes” 
attitude, egoism. An alibi keeps the High Hat in place, but does not help 
the soft head under it. 
IRIDACEAE 
This is the Iris family and includes Gladiolus, Ixias, Bearded Iris, Bulbous 
Iris, Watsonias, Freesias, etc., ending with Iris reticulata. 
GLADIOLUS 
They are probably the most important members of the Iris Family. As 
a commercial cut flower, no other flower is used in such huge quantities. 
Nothing is so colorful, so well adapted to bouquets, to sprays or any sort of 
floral decoration. They are equally lovely in the garden. 
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