Gladiolus Fragrant Lady - Sword Lily

The gladiolus 'Fragrant Lady' is a rare and beautiful hybrid: this very tall plant bears, in mid-summer, lovely romantic flowers of pale pink washed with lilac pink and warmed with cream in the throat. The long flower spikes are covered with 18 to 22 buds, blooming in groups of 7 simultaneously. Gladiolus are incomparable cut flowers. This one, quite extraordinary, combines generosity, romantic splendor and subtle fragrance. We deliver them to you in large sizes of 14+ for the best flowering. 

The genus Gladiolus belongs to the Iridaceae family, the cultivated varieties are hybrids divided into 3 major groups: Grandiflorus (large flowers), Primulinus (early) and Nanus (butterflies). 'Fragrant Lady' is part of the Grandiflorus group. This variety was registered in 2008 in the Netherlands. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, with broad, sword-shaped, dark green leaves arranged in a fan shape and forming a clump of 1.60 m (5ft) in height when flowering. From the leaves emerges an inflorescence in a 75 cm (30in) long spike, with funnel-shaped flowers, 11 cm (4in) long, blooming in groups of 7. They are pale pink with a touch of mauve on the edges, spotted with pale yellow to cream at the base of the lower petal and pleated on the petal edges. Their light fragrance is very pleasant in bouquets. The storage organ is a corm, which is a swollen stem with scales. 

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 'Fragrant Lady' 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.