Small Talk 
Mother Nature dealt the midwest another hot dry 
growing season in ’53, but in spite of climatic adversi- 
ties the over-all results of our season’s labors were gen- 
erally satisfactory. 
I believe the one thing that got us down more than 
anything else was the battle with the weeds. They 
thrived on the drouth. It seemed we would never rid our 
glads of the pig weed, or purslane, infestation on our 
rented land. The worst part of it was that this rented 
property on which we grew our bulblets and planting 
stock was 30 miles from our Villa Park home. We have 
realized for quite some time that this was an untenable 
situation and so last fall we took steps to remedy it by 
purchasing our own farm where we will have ample 
room to grow all our glads on a sound rotation plan. 
Please note our change of address. We are only 9 miles 
from our former location, on Bloomingdale Road, 1% 
miles north of North Avenue (Illinois Rt. 64). See map 
on page 22. 
We exhibited miniatures in seven shows in Illi- 
nois, Indiana and Wisconsin last summer, and in all the 
little ones were not only lending color and distinction to 
the displays but also were picking up ribbons, medals 
and trophies. Here in Illinois our state society sponsored 
six shows, and at three of them small type glads were 
Grand Champions of the 3-spike divisions. One of our 
customers was one of these winners with a 3-spike of 
Little Pal from our bulbs. We won on the other two oc- 
casions with Statuette and our new 1954 release, Zig 
Zag. At still another Illinois show a single spike of 
Peter Pan was runner-up from Grand Champ. 
> 
Our greatest effort was put forth at the Central Inter- ; 
national in Chicago where we staged our Commercial 
Display featuring arrangements and specimens of minia- 
ture and small type glads. As usual the artistic phase 
of our display featured the talents of Mrs. Raymond 
Rohde, well Known lecturer and teacher of the art of 
flower arranging, and again she was assisted by my 
wife, Frances. Our dispiay was judged to be the best 
Commercial Display in the show. 
We realize that many of our customers are not inter- 
ested in exhibiting at shows, and while the miniature 
and small type glad is demonstrating its worth in this 
respect more convincingly each year, we must not lose 
sight of the fact that the ease of its culture makes it a 
welcome subject in any garden, and the adaptability to 
arrangement use, particularly in this era of the diminu- 
tive modern home with its confining rooms and low 
ceilings, is not equaled by any other flower. 
The list of Miniature and small type glads which fol- 
lows is what I term the best list of Select Varieties to be 
found in any catalog. It is not the longest list, for 
there may be one or two others who catalog more varie- 
ties in an attempt to impress folks with the extensive- 
ness of their listings of little glads. 
It is my contention that the best service can be ren- 
dered to my customers by careful testing and apprais- 
ing all the available varieties in my personal garden, 
screening out the unworthy ones and listing only those 
that I can honestly recommend as deserving. To this end 
I have devoted countless hours of time and a great deal 
of money by seeking out nearly extinct older varieties 
and acquiring all the new introductions each year. Per- 
haps not for the most, but certainly for the best, you can 
look to and rely on Summit Gardens when it comes to 
the best there is in Miniature & Small Type Glads. 
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