8 NOWETA GARDENS 

BEAUTY’S BLUSH (440) (Fischer) ('47) (Mid- 
season) (Margaret Beaton x Choice Seedlings) 
In Beauty’s Blush we offer an achievement in 
color, rhythm and style. The name speaks of a 
cool, soft blushing pink that has lots of sparkle. 
Tall, stiff, wiry stems reveal the stalwart char- 
acter of this lovely flower. Seven or eight flat, 
5 inch, saucer-like florets are precisely, but 
neatly arranged on a tall 18 to 20 bud spike. 
Stands heat well. Beauty’s Blush is a robust 
grower, distinctly disease resistant and preco- 
cious, blooming unusually well from. small 
bulbs. Even from large bulbs it produces lots of 
big bulblets which germinate well. Opens well 
in water. A best seller last year. All the large 
and medium bulbs that were left after order 
filling were a few partly diseased bulbs which 
should have been thrown away. These bloomed 
during the hot dry weather and were not char- 
acteristic of the blushing beauty at all. The 
color was pale and washed out. Later when 
the fives bloomed all the glory and splendor of 
former years was with us again. It is one of 
the most delectable, blushing shades in the 
gladiolus kingdom, like a refreshing summer’s 
shower. Rampant grower as before. (L 1-$1.50; 
10-$12.00) (M 1-$1.25; 10-$10.00) (S 1-$1.00; 10- 
$8.00) (Blbts. 2-25c; 12-$1.00) 
BETTER TIMES (376) (K & M) (’46) (Early Mid- 
season) Better Times marks an era of “better 
times’’ among the blues; one of the “finds” of 
the year. The silvery pale blue florets are 
pleasingly poised on long slender flowerheads. 
The somewhat upright placement of the florets 
strike a capricious, festive mood which is best 
caught when the flower is made up into an ar- 
rangement. The color is like that of High Life. 
We had High Life and Better Times blooming 
side by side last summer. High Life burned 
badly in the heat while Better Times was cool 
and crisp. Tall, vigorous, prolific. (L 1-25c; 10- 
$2.00) 
BIG TOP (541) (Rich) (’42) (Midseason) (Picardy 
x Truly White) If you like ’em big buy Big 
Top. It is a huge light pink with a small car- 
mine feather. Produces very tall husky plants 
with long flowerheads. Spiritless form, Slatey 
shading in the pink. (L 2-25c; 10-$1.00) (M 3- 
25c; 10-70c) (S 10-40c) (Blbts. Pkg. 25c) 
BIRCH RED (552) (Rich) (’45) (Midseason-Late) 
(Picardy X (Morocco x Superior) Birch Red 
gave us one of the most commanding, composed, 
full, double-row spikes of the year. Six to eight 
round broad petaled florets were well attached 
on slender wiry stems. A few more inches of 
spike length might be desirable but the flower 
is so rich in superlatives that one is not mind- 
ful of a slight defect. The color is vibrant— 
smooth. Tall, stately, rugged, prolific. One of 
my favorites. (L 1-$3.00) (M 1-$2.00) (S 1-$1.00) 
(Blbts. 1-30c; 10-$2.00) 
BLACK DIAMOND (354) (Gelser) ('42) (Early) 
(Morocco seedling) If you like the dark ones, 
you will be captivated by the shimmering sheen, 
rich ebony coloring, and beautiful ruffling of 
Black Diamond. The three to five florets are 
pleasingly poised on slender stems of average 
height. Very popular, but it is difficult to 
germinate the bulblets. (L 1-25c; 10-$2.00) (ME 
10-$1.50) (S 10-80c) (Blbts. 10-20c; 100-$1.00) 
BLACK OPAL (454) (Errey) (’36) (Midseason) 
(Morocco x Lucifer) A fine tall deep red with 
9 to 10 round florets well placed on tall stretchy 
flowerheads. The standard dark red. (L 3-25c; 
10-70c) (M 10-40c) (S 10-25c) (Pkg. Blbts. 20c) 

“Of course Wedgwood is another one. Of all 
the new ones (about forty) that I tried this sum- 
mer, I still believe that Wedgwood is the most 
beautiful in all color classes. I shall have to 
have more this coming season.’’—William E. Geer, 
BEAUTY’S BLUSH Conn. 

