Gladioli have been out of fashion for as long as I can remember. They got a reputation for being too showy and Dame Edna put paid to any hopes of a revival. But I love them and in January I ordered a large batch for a show garden at Tatton which, in the end, didn’t happen. So at short notice I needed to find a home for 400 gladioli. I planted about half of them here at Yewbarrow House, putting some among the large leaved Canna Musifolia (musifolia means “banana-leaved, so they are huge). This created a very effective display as the flowers of the gladioli seemed to belong to the cannas, causing many a visitor to do a double take. The other 200 plants I used at the Damson Dene hotel, planting them along the border of the Dahlia garden, where they look stunning. The gladioli have been in flower for a good two months (no doubt helped by the gloomy weather) which is fabulous value.
Tags: Dahlia, Damson Dene, Yewbarrow House