Collection of 60 Pastel Gladioli

This is a collection of 60 pastel Gladioli composed of the varieties 'Adrenaline', 'Cream Perfection', and 'Mon Amour'. Their large flowers gathered in generous spikes create a delightful gradient of cream, salmon, and soft pink with a touch of deeper pink. With incomparable elegance in a vase, they are spectacular in summer flower beds. Plant in damp but well-drained soil, in a sunny position.

This collection consists of:

- 20 'Adrenaline' gladioli: a new variety which is 90-100 cm (35-39in) in flower, which produces large slightly fringed flowers, coloured in tender candy pink and washed with white, enhanced by pretty spots and a throat of deeper pink.

- 20 'Cream Perfection' gladioli: this novelty bears magnificent delicately pleated flowers, in a creamy colour, discreetly enhanced by a salmon pink throat. They are packed together without jostling on perfectly formed spikes. Its flower stem rises 1 m (3ft) from the ground.

- 20 'Mon Amour' gladioli: its strong stems, which can reach 1.50 m (5ft) in height, carry tightly packed and dense spikes. Each flower is a subtle blend of three soft colours, cotton candy pink, yellow, and ivory.

Individually labelled.

Cultivated gladioli, belonging to the Iridaceae family, are hybrid plants. They are divided into 3 main groups: Grandiflorus (large flowers), Primulinus (early), and Nanus like (butterflies). 'Mon Amour', 'Adrenaline', and 'Cream Perfection' belong to the Grandiflorus group. Gladiolus is a perennial herbaceous plant with wide, sword-shaped leaves arranged in a fan shape, forming a clump of leaves that are topped by a dense spike bearing large funnel-shaped flowers. The storage organ is a corm, which is a swollen stem equipped with scales. To enjoy flowers throughout the summer, plant your corms at intervals of 15 days from March to May.

Gladioli and their long coloured stems are a symbol of the 70s and somewhat formal floral arrangements. While they are irreplaceable in bouquets, in gardens, their silhouette needs the presence of plants with lush foliage that will enhance their rich but wildly romantic flowering. Plant their corms among clumps of sage, tobacco, bee balm, and forget-me-nots, for example, or among small ornamental grasses like Stipa or blue fescues. They are regulars in cottage gardens, where they accompany vegetables well. For making 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 flower the house and garden all summer.

The gladiolus owes its name to the shape of its sword-like leaves, derived from the Latin gladius. Its wild forms were often represented in jewellery.