Gladiolus Cream Perfection - Sword Lily

The Gladiolus 'Cream Perfection' is a new variety of large-flowered gladiolus of real elegance. This tall plant bears magnificently plicate flowers in a cream colour, discreetly enhanced by a touched-up salmon pink throat. They are tightly packed without jostling on perfectly formed spikes. This gladiolus, with its unusual colour and perfect flowers, is a marvel in bouquets. In the garden, it brings verticality and a lot of character to cottage flower beds.

Cultivated gladioli, belonging to the Iridaceae family, are hybrid plants. They are divided into 3 main groups: Grandiflorus (large-flowered), Primulinus (early blooming), and Nanus (butterflies). 'Cream Perfection', registered in the Netherlands in 2009, belongs to the first group. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with wide, sword-shaped leaves arranged in a fan shape, forming a tuft of over 1m (3ft) tall when in flower, under good conditions. The leaves are topped by a dense spike inflorescence, with numerous funnel-shaped flowers, 10-12cm (4-5in) long, borne on sturdy stems. They are mostly a beautiful very pale yellow, almost white. The petals are slightly darker at the base, and the throat is marked with a touch of salmon pink. The storage organ is a corm, which is a swollen stem corresponding to scales. To enjoy the flowers throughout the summer, plant your corms at 15-day intervals from March to May.

Gladioli and their long, colourful stems are reminiscent of the 70s and slightly formal floral arrangements. While they are irreplaceable in bouquets, in gardens, their silhouette appreciates the presence of plants with lush foliage to enhance their abundant yet romantically wild flowering. Plant 'Cream Perfection' corms alongside sage, tobacco, bee balm, and forget-me-nots, for example. They are commonly found in cottage gardens, where they accompany vegetables all the way to the kitchen table. To make bouquets, cut the flower stems when the first floret begins to open. Plant them at intervals of two weeks from early spring until the end of June to bring flowers into the house and garden all summer.

The gladiolus gets its name from the shape of its sword-like leaves, derived from the Latin word,  gladius. Its wild forms were often represented in jewelry or on carpets and fabrics made by the Semitic people before the Christian era.