Gladiolus The Bride - Sword Lily

The Gladiolus colvillii 'The Bride' is a variety of dwarf gladiolus whose hardiness allows for year-round outdoor cultivation in our climate, with good mulching in winter. This bulb typically produces well-filled spikes of white star-shaped flowers, punctuated with purple stamens and pale yellow markings at the centre, usually in late spring. A hybrid, not commonly planted in gardens, that has a great chance of changing the perception of this plant, which is often considered too stiff and artificial. Charming, natural, and graceful, it integrates much better than larger hybrids into romantic or slightly wild borders.

The genus Gladiolus belongs to the iris family, and cultivated varieties are hybrids divided into 3 main groups: Grandiflorus (large-flowered), Primulinus (early-flowering), and Nanus (butterflies). Gladiolus colvillii is the first known hybrid in cultivation, obtained in England in 1823 through the cross-breeding of Gladiolus cardinalis and G. tristis. It is part of the gladiolus group characterised by rather small flowers, irregularly arranged on 40-45 cm (16-18in) tall stems, each bearing up to 10 florets. The lower petal of each star-shaped flower has a darker central zone.

'The Bride' is a very old cultivar, a white offspring of this Colvillii hybrid, introduced to the market in 1871, but still cultivated due to its true elegance. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with thin, very dark green sword-shaped leaves arranged in a fan shape, forming a 45 cm (18in) tall clump. The leaves are topped by an inflorescence in spike form, with up to 10 buds, each flower having 6 petals and measuring 8 cm (3in) in diameter, resembling small white lilies, and borne on very slim stems. The flowers gradually open from bottom to top, forming beautiful flower spikes. The storage organ is a corm, which is a swollen stem with scales. Each corm will produce 2 or 3 flower spikes.

Gladioli and their long colourful spikes are reminiscent of the 70s and somewhat formal floral arrangements. While they are irreplaceable in bouquets, in gardens, their silhouette benefits from the presence of plants with lush foliage to enhance their abundant yet wildly romantic flowering. Far from this archetype, the dwarf Gladiolus 'The Bride' fits well into simple perennial borders without requiring staking. It pairs well with ground cover roses ('The Fairy', 'Knock Out'), small grasses (Stipa pennata or tenuifolia), forget-me-nots, penstemons, and perennial flax, for example. Play with bright pink and red for vibrancy and add here and there some silver foliage (stachys, artemisias). For bouquet arrangements, cut the flower spikes when the first floret starts to open. Plant them at intervals of two weeks from early spring until the end of June to have flowers in the house and garden all summer long.

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