Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Gladiolus Are Among the Most Elegant of Flowers


There are so many gorgeous flowers in the world it would be impossible to select the best.


However, one of  my favorites is the  gladiolus. The plural is  gladioli. 


They are breathtaking.They are elegant.  They are regal.


Natives of South Africa, they grow from bulbs. If you live in a really cold climate, the bulbs have to be dug up and removed before winter.


Their spikes can grow as tall as 1.5 feet. 


It's interesting to note the name gladiolus is derived from the Latin word "gladius" which means sword.  In a way, the flowers do have a kind of tall, sword-like appearance.

In a garden, they look extremely artistic and fit for royalty. 


They also come in many colors such as apricot, light purple, pink, red, white, and yellow.

Here's the best part of gladioli. They are very easy to grow and look fabulous in a garden!


Once, we lived in the inner city.  Behind our house, my hubs planted a small plot of flowers including gladioli and they were magnificent.

I still have photographs of our children when they were little, near the gladioli.  

My daughter and her hubs came for tacos last night and brought me these three gorgeous gladioli in a vase, tied with a white ribbon. 



They came from their flower garden!  That was so nice of them.
Two of my favorite colors were there, too, namely, lilac and pink.

Aren't the flowers the pizazz?

DO YOU GROW GLADIOLI? WHICH COLOR GLADIOLI DO YOU LIKE BEST?

15 comments:

Linda O'Connell said...

They are so pretty they look like a beautiful painting...God's handiwork.

Chatty Crone said...

My grandmother was named after them - We called her grandma Glady's. I love those flowers and she was a wonderful lay. Gosh she died in 1985! sandie

diane.stetson said...

Oh how pretty...and how nice of you to get them from your daughter's garden. I don't have those kind here where I live...they are all very colorful.

Joyful said...

The flowers are stunning. I don't grow any myself but I love all the colours.

Unknown said...

This reminds me of my grandmother, she always dug up the bulbs and kept them safe during the winter, to plant them again in the spring. I love these flowers. It's a busy week for me this week, first week back from the holidays. Have a great day!

Eva

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Their stems must be sword like in order to stand tall with those big gorgeous blooms. Your gladioli are very pretty. Enjoy! And have a great week. Tammy

Lucy@heart and hearth said...

Love gladiola. mine aren't in bloom yet,but they truely are one of my favorite too.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

They are beautiful. I haven't seen any in a long time. Maybe I should think about growing some here! Hugs, Linda

Dee said...

stunning! Love the pink....

Nellie said...

We had gladioli at our other house, and we need to begin them here! If you plant bulbs every week-end in April, there will be blooms all during July. At least, that's true for our climate here - until this record-setting high temperature summer! My father loved gladioli and had them planted when I was growing up. Our winters here are not so cold that the bulbs need to be stored away for the season.

Sioux Roslawski said...

Susan--the flowers--and your photos--are gorgeous. Despite you asserting they are easy to grow, I think the only color of gladioli I could grow would match my thumb--black.

A New England Life said...

I do not grow Glads. My parents used to, and they replanted them every year. This year they let the garden go completely. Kind of sad.

For some reason I didn't realize Glads were already blooming! They really are such a beautiful flower. Just have to watch the bugs ; )

The Old Parsonage said...

They are my favorite flower. I had them at our wedding - my MIL said that they were funeral flowers - nice hunh?

Enjoy the rest of your week!
Leann

From Beyond My Kitchen Window said...

I wish I grew Gladioli. They are indeed a lovely color. A vase filled with them on my dining room table would be lovely.

Barbara Neubeck said...

Hi Susan,
I love Gladioli in all their colours.
They are stately and a little 'olde worlde'. Beautiful in the garden and in a vase. Thanks for sharing your daughter's Glads with us.
Have a good week
Barb from Australia

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