Gladiolus
A very special friend brought me a very special birthday gift earlier this year.
She brought me a sack of Gladiolus bulbs.
We share bits and pieces from our gardens with one another all of the time. In fact, we hardly ever get together without sharing cuttings and discussing our gardens.
Yet this was a special gift.
Although our friend loves and grows Gladiolus in her own garden, these were bulbs she had selected especially as a gift for me. She brought two colors; a blue and a violet.
But this gift was also a challenge, because I haven’t grown Glads in the past. She was inviting me to explore a new genus not yet in the garden.
The weather was still cold and wet when she brought them, and I had no idea where they would best grow.
I also had to do a little research before feeling confident enough to plant them.
I just took the time to enjoy them for a little while, and consider all of the possibilities before the day came to plant them in the garden.
In retrospect, there was only one proper place to enjoy these beautiful glads: The new stump garden.
It receives full sun, and the plants already growing are lush and large enough to help provide support to these very tall flowers.
And now they are coming into glorious bloom.
What a wonderful gift of love and beauty!
As the blossoms open, it is a new gift to enjoy each day!
And a reminder of our very special friend….
Photos by Woodland Gnome 2014
Forest Garden 
Nice story, I have a garden full of plants that were given to me or traded!! Love the Gladiolus, they are beautiful. I have never tried growing them, are they easy to grow?
So far they are easy. The trick with Glads, and a reason I’ve never planted them before, is that they grow very tall and must have support. As they lengthen, they will lean from the weight of the flowers. The open spike in the photo toppled the next day in our thunderstorms. I cut it the following morning and brought it inside in a vase. The weight of the opening flowers bent over the stem again, and I had to cut it shorter this morning at that bend and discard the bottom. It is still lovely, and the flowers are stunning inside. As long as you provide supports (tall supports- the supports I had on hand and tried first weren’t tall enough) they are lovely. And of course, they can be harvested and brought inside when they begin to open. Hope you try some! WG
thank you, I think I will give them a try, did a little research on them this morning! 🙂
Am soooo glad, the Glad has begun to gladden! And needles to say dear friend, it’s where and how you plant that adds to its beauty and glory. May these Glads contine to gladden your heart and garden for years to come.
Thank you! They are splendid 😉 They certainly will gladden heart and eye for a long time to come.
The stump garden is beautiful. And your site is so informative as well. Thanks. And whenever your birthday was hope it was happy.
Thanks so much for the good wishes 😉 It was a while ago now…
Enjoy the day,
WG
The stumb garden is beautiful.
Thank you 😉
Such a gorgeous variety – I think you sited it very well!
Thank you, Eliza 😉
I like them! 🙂 They look great!
And what a stump — he rocks!
😉 What an amazing plant grows from such a tiny little bulb…
That might be the prettiest one I’ve ever seen! Don’t you love having things in your garden which remind you of special people? That is one gorgeous specimen and I know you must be so pleased. And Happy Birthday?
Hi Barbara, Thank you, but my birthday was months ago 😉 still, I gratefully accept good wishes whenever they might be offered 😉 It is certainly the prettiest Glad I’ve ever seen. Plants given as gifts are always special to me, and remind me of special people in my life. We have a rich circle of green-thumbed friends 😉 Hope you both are well- Best, WG