Gardening for Health aud Keerceatiou 
Gardening is now rated the No. 1 hobby among 
Americans. This is certainly a cheerful and whole- 
some fact in a not-so-cheerful or wholesome world. 
Indeed, according to a survey recently made, between 
600 and 700 million dollars are spent annually in this 
country on the various phases of gardening, including 
lawn and tree upkeep. About half this money is ex- 
pended for garden tractors and power mowers. 
Among flowers, glads are rated first in commercial 
importance, having surpassed roses with the develop- 
ment of the Florida winter glad industry. 
The growing popularity of flowers as a hobby is 
attested by the fact that the originator of the patented 
rose, Peace, is said to have received $40,000 in royalties 
for the year 1950. Total royalties on this rose may 
approach a quarter of a million dollars by the time the 
patent expires. Although glads as a whole are even 
more popular than roses, I know of no returns on any 
single glad commensurate with those on Peace, though 
I do recall a grower of Spotlight selling $37,000 of that 
variety in a single order when the variety was new. 
Such returns are highly unusual, however. 
One reason for the popularity of glads as cut-flowers 
is the fact that, as a friend who has no garden but 
who often buys glads put it, “When one buys a dozen 
glads, he gets 150 flowers.” With no other flower can 
the florist give so much color for the money. Also, 
glads are so easy to grow, thriving mightily in any 
good vegetable garden if grown primarily as cut- 
flowers or contributing gay splashes of color to the 
late perennial border when most perennials are at rest. 
In England the practice of “pepping up” a perennial 
border by planting scattered clumps of glads is quite 
common. 
Glads are the ideal hobby flower for several reasons. 
No flower except the pansy exhibits such a variation 
in color as the gladiolus. Each glad variety has a 
charm all its own—a distinct personality—which makes 
it a collector’s item. Then, too, glads as a hobby offer 
unusual opportunities for making the hobby pay for 
itself and often return a tidy profit. Even those who 
specialize in some other flower, or who do not spe- 
cialize at all, find glads with their lavish color and pro- 
fusion of pinks essential to round out the garden pic- 
ture. Of the eight major flowers (tulips, iris, peonies, 
roses, lilies, glads, dahlias, and chrysanthemums) glads 
are supreme in August. They may be planted to bloom 
in July or September, however, so that no bloom is 
wasted while one is away on an August vacation. 
Reverting to the theme of pleasure and profit from 
glads as cut-flowers, I may say that each year we re- 
ceive interesting letters from customers expressing sur- 
prise at the outlet they find for their surplus blooms. 
A highway patrolman in Pennsylvania writes that in 
the first ten days of the blooming season, he sold $200 
worth of cut-flowers. Many school teachers with free 
time during the summer make their glad garden pay 
off financially as well as provide a dividend in health 
and recreation. We know of one school principal in a 
large city, who, specializing in Noweta Gardens va- 
rieties, sold $4,000 worth of cut-flowers last summer, 
building up a real quality clientele among florists. 
Small and especially medium bulbs supply much of 
his choice bloom. 
The 1951 blooming season was almost ideal in the 
upper Midwest, though we would have been glad if 
Jupiter Pluvius had saved a few unneeded rains for 
some future drier season. We harvested a slightly 
larger crop of bulbs than in 1950, which will reach 
you in even brighter condition than heretofore as a 
result of new drying equipment installed last summer 
in our storage quarters. We do our best as growers 
to bring you bulbs of topmost quality and our best as 
cataloguers to bring you only outstanding varieties. 
Though we were fortunate to get all our glads out 
of the ground before the October 31 freeze, many 
growers, I am told, were caught with several acres of 
glads still undug. Because of this fact and because of 
the general coolness of the season, large glad bulbs are 
going to be somewhat scarce this year. 
Our SEASON’S HONOR ROLL (excluding my own 
varieties) is as follows: Tarawa, Lady Anne, Red Vel- 
vet, The Roan, King David, Rosy Future, Harry Hop- 
kins, October Sunshine, Frosty, Sandman, Quiberon, 
Leah Gorham, and Wayfarer. A variety on a previous 
season’s honor roll is not eligible again. 
Older varieties besides my own that simply outdid 
themselves in quality of bloom are: Aureole, Betty 
Duncan, Birch Red, Burma, Cordova, Dark David, 
Dieppe, Dolly Varden, Fire Gleam, Gaylore, Gene, 
Gorgeous Deb, Heart’s Desire, Manchu, Pactolus, 
Pandora, Pastel, Patrol, Ravel, Red Cherry, Red Plush, 
Redwing, Ruby, Salman’s Glory Sherwood, Sincerity, 
Skyway, Sparks, Spic and Span, Starlet, Strawberry 
Peach, Sunday Best, Tivoli, and White Goddess. 
We recommend the following “First Earlies” to 
growers of early cut-flowers: Rose Charm, Heart O’ 
Gold, Brightside, Lavender and Gold, Friendship, Bo- 
Peep, Cupid, Babs, Wedgwood, Salman’s Glory, Beau- 
ty’s Blush, Sweet Sixteen, Yellow Herald, Cream Or- 
chids, Pactolus, Gene, Enchantment, White Lace, 
Radiance, Gaylore, Red Plush, Better Times, Fire 
Gleam, Nocturne, and Abu Hassan. 
Strongest growers from bulblets last summer were: 
Evangeline, Beauty’s Blush, Aureole, Gold, Mighty 
Monarch, Sweet Sixteen, Gaylore, Lavender Lace, 
Elmer’s Rose, Betty Duncan, Dark David, Magnet, 
October Sunshine, White Wave, Chivalry, Dolly Var- 
den, Parthiena, Fire Gleam, White Goddess, Frosty, 
Pasteline, and Wedgwood. 
This year I am discontinuing: Aristos, Big Top, Blue 
Bonnet, Blue Lagoon, Bolero, Buckeye Bronze, Cherry 
Jam, Gleam, Grace Darling, Huntress, Irak, Jeanie, 
June Day, Lavender Prince, Lovelace, Maxwelton, 
Modena, Modern Times, Montpelier, Nancy, Orange 
Prince, Oriental Pearl, Perdita, Purple Supreme, Rosa 
van Lima, Siboney, Silver Star, Susquehanna, and 
True Love. Not that many of these are not good glads; 
they simply had to make room for new ones that are 
much better. 
As usual, our catalog is rewritten anew from cover 
to cover. This is rarely done in the horticultural world, 
but we think it makes the hobby of glad-growing more 
enjoyable and that is what we are out to accomplish. 
The principal innovation in our catalog this year is 
the group of beautiful arrangements by Carl Starker. 
We hope that these original compositions, in conjunc- 
tion with Mr. Starker’s lucid explanation of the ar- 
ranger’s art, will help you get the fullest possible en- 
joyment out of your glads and increase their value to 
you in the beautification of your homes. 
May 1952 bring you new and greater thrills in your 
pursuit of beauty, health, and recreation through the 
hobby of gardening. 
