Decorah-posten., 1898-08-12
The Gladiolus.

Another years tflaI OF the Iisa'
ilolus c~onvinces me more than
ever that this is the ideal flower
for the masses. 1t is. to the gar
den. what the Geranium has long
been to the window. Ii is beauti-
full in form and color, it is a tree
and profuse bloomcr, lasts well, and
is OF the easiest possible culture.
And it is cheap. A dollar will
buy quite a good collection OF
bulbs, and from them, in fall, one
can gather enough to fill as much
space next seaso as a person
would be likely to devote to any
one flower in a garden of the aver
age size. If the person planting
this flower will see that it gets a
rich and mellow soil, and keeps
the weeds down about it, she Will
have no trouble about securing a
fine crop of bloom. have never
known it to fail.
would advise keeping the col
ors separate, if possible, as, when
planted promiscuously, the effect
Is often spoiled by inharmonious
colors getting together. The lilac
and mauve sorts are fine, when by
themselves, but when they are
seen side by side with scarlets, or
rose-colored kinds their beauty is
greatly diminished, and they mar
the effect OF their neighbors' richly
colorcd garments. / went over
my beds this season and tied a red
string around all kinds that were
in harmony with each other, and
next season these will be planted
by themselves. Those not in
Guided in this list will be given a
place in some out-of-the-way cor
ncr. where they will be grown to
cut from.
The value of the Gladiolus as a
cut flower does not seem to be
fully understood as yet. | con-
slider it one of our best ones. 1t
retaines its color wonderfully,
after being taken into the house.
If you gather a spike whose lower
flowers only have opened, and
give it a tall vase or jar of soft
water, and see that this water is
changed daily, it will go on and
develop every bud, the same as if
it were growing on its parent bulb.
True, the later flowers will not be
quite as large as they would be if
they had been allowed to bloom
under natural conditions and they
will perhaps be a trife less bright
in color, but they will suffer little
because of removal from the
garden,-less than any other plant
| know of, in fact. Because of
their tall and stately habit, these
plants are very effective in room
decoration. A large jar filled
with spikes in full bloom makes
a most brilliant ornament for the
corner of a room. or the decora-
ton of the hearth. One of the
most effective mantel decorations
have seen for a long time was
wrought out with Ferns and Glad
ioluses, the light red and pale
yellow varieties only being used,
the latter sparingly. A spike or
two OF this color among those of
brighter color will tighten the en-
tire mass charmingly, and bring
out most strikingly the richness
OF coloring peculiar to the reds
and their various shades.
For church decoration during
the late summer and early fall,
this flower is unsurpassed. Its
habit of growth makes it har
monte well with the architecture
of most churches, and its great
mass OF flowers, strong, rich colors,
where quantities are used, makes
it wonderfully effective in large
spaces where smaller flowers and
a less solid mass of color would
produce what might be appropri-
ately called a thin effect.
Popular as this flower is be-
coming, ] find, by extensive cor
respondence among amateurs, that
its culture is not generally under
stood, and because of its delicacy
OF texture and Orchid-like rich
ness and variety of color, the
impression prevails that it is a
somewhat exclusive flower in the
sense that it only succeeds when
It can have better care than the
ordinary. This is not at all the
case. 1t is, as ! have already said,
one OF the easiest of all flowers to
grow. Anyone can succeed with
II who can grow a Cabbage. Dig
70 the soil where it is to be planted
to the dept of at least a foot.
Make It mellow, and very rich
with old manure from the cow
yard. About the middle of Nav.
plant the bulbs about six inches
deep. This is all that will have
to be done evcar&