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outdid itself in a season evidently to its liking. The first red to greet me in mid-July was 
RHETT BUTLER, followed closely by RED CHERRY. It is difficult to choose between 
these two earlies; both are 100% cutters. I was privileged to grow ESQUIRE prior to its 
introduction; it is a worthy release in scarlet. Many of the reds grow to giant size florets 
and ESQUIRE falls in this division. BONFIRE has a velvet textured bloom in clear orange 
scarlet. Placement is always perfect; an all around good glad. MT. GEM opens large, 
wide open rounded florets; it should be more widely grown. I condone the short spikes of 
TARAWA for its brilliant scarlet, reminiscent of the old DR. BENNETT. INTRUDER has 
been rightly named “King of the Reds.” It excells in florescence, opening 10 in perfect 
formal placement. BURMA is an example of a hybridizer’s dream coming true once in a 
lifetime. BIRCH RED, in a deep sparkling shade, is a husky grower. BLACK CHERRY, 
in ‘black reds’, is a universal favorite. MRS. R. G. ERREY is a worthy rival, somewhat 
lighter in color, with taller growing habits, but lacking in ability to stand up in the row. In 
RED GOLD we have a light red of unusual color value. From the same originator comes 
HAROLD K, deeper in color and growing tall and large. Other good reds would include 
HIAWATHA, BIG JOE, VELVET MANTLE and MID AMERICA. The last two are good 
prospects for winners in the longest flowerhead class. 
BRIDAL ORCHID, the sensational new addition to the lavender class, added to its 
laurels by winning in 1950, additional championships. If it has a fault, and what glad 
does not, it is in the variation of color due to soils or climate. I feel certain everyone will 
want to at least grow a bit of it next season. NOWETA ROSE is rosy lavender and grows 
to mammoth proportions. It will give BRIDAL ORCHID real competition when the cham- 
pionships are awarded. I experienced one of my greatest thrills in the performance of 
PATRICIAN. In spite of all the pros and cons, here is a truly great lavender. None can 
compete with it for purity of color. SIBONEY rates high with me; color is warmer than 
most due to the influx of pink. The color of W. H. HOSMER is good but up to now it has 
not attained great height. CORONET is a favorite in a rosy pink lavender shade. GAIL 
is a tall grower in a cool shade of lavender and has not been the shy increaser as reported 
by some. WEDGWOOD is usually selected by garden visitors as a favorite; in its size class 
it has no superior. LUCKY is a bit larger and has a clean white throat. I know of no 
better early than HUNTRESS, in spite of its flecking. It is 100% regular in the perform- 
ance of uniform straight spikes. TRAIL’S END is quite distinctive, rosy lavender with 
creamy white throat. SUNDAY BEST has one thing in common with NOWETA ROSE; 
it has light rose in its make-up and could as easily been classified thus. From small bulbs 
it is a great performer and should have real commercial possibilities. MINSTREL as yet 
has no size competitor. Bulblet selection from tall spike plants will insure a superior 
strain of that grand lavender, ELIZABETH THE QUEEN. 
The deeper shades of blue and purple have offered nothing exciting by way of 1950 
introduction. There are, however, several recent introductions that merit a place in my 
list. SHERWOOD is beautifully ruffled, deep purple shading to deeper throat. DOROTHY 
ARMSTRONG is a medium purple, practically self. PARTHIENA is the giant of the 
group, opening 6 to 8 slightly ruffled blooms on a long flowerhead. LANCASTER appears 
to be the best of the older ones. I have liked BLUE LAGOON since my first year of 
growing it; too good cultivation may result in florets spaced too far apart. BLUE BEAUTY 
is the most widely grown commercial blue and justly deserves to be. 
Every garden needs an eye-catcher and PACTOLUS is definitely the glad for this pur- 
pose. Introduced as a novelty, it is fast becoming the most widely grown blotched variety. 
It is not only showy but beautiful as well. It would be difficult indeed, in view of the 
many splendid releases of the past few years, to select a list of 10 best. Opinions would 
vary to such an extent that such a list would have little value, even to the novice. If I 
were to select the three, however, that gave me my greatest thrill, this honor would be 
given to the pink NEW YORKER, the yellow GOLDEN CROWN and a ruffled deep rose 
Burma seedling, the last named coming from the garden of the originator of GOLDEN 
CROWN and to be offered in 1952. It is conceded that not all the varieties enumerated 
above will do as well for you as for me. Some may do even better, however. Reluctantly we 
see our beautiful gladiolus fade into oblivion. The joys and experiences derived during 
the summer just past will compensate to carry us thru the long winter until Springtime 
again appears and our dreams become a reality. Once again I wish to express my appre- 
ciation to all my last season’s customers, also for their splendid letters received. My best 
wishes go to each and every one for their success in the 1951 garden. 
