Gladiolus primulinus Angel Kisses - Sword Lily

The Gladiolus 'Angel Kisses' is a relatively small-sized variety of gladiolus, with elegant flowers and delicate lines, whose hardiness allows for year-round cultivation in open ground in mostcontinental european climates, provided it is well mulched in winter. This bulb produces, from late spring to the heart of summer depending on the climate, well-filled spikes of white flowers adorned with purple signals on the throat. A hybrid that is not widely planted in gardens, but has a great chance of changing the perception of detractors who often consider this plant too stiff and artificial-looking. Elegant, natural, and graceful, it integrates much better than large hybrids into romantic or slightly wild flower beds.

The genus Gladiolus belongs to the family of irises, the cultivated varieties are hybrids divided into 3 major groups: Grandiflorus (large-flowered), Primulinus (early), and Nanus (butterflies). 'Angel Kisses' belongs to the Primulinus group, characterized by rather small and often maculate flowers, irregularly arranged on stems 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28in) high, each bearing up to 20 florets. The upper petal of each flower has a curving helmet shape.

'Angel Kisses' is an original and very recent cultivar, still very rare in cultivation. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, with thin sword-shaped leaves arranged in a fan shape, forming a clump about 70-80 cm (28-32in) high when in bloom. The leaves are topped by an inflorescence in spike form, with at least ten buds, whose flowers resemble those of certain orchids, carried by very slender, upright stems. Here, they are a pale mauve-washed white, with each petal outlined in violet. The reserve organ is a corm, which is a swollen stem covered with scales. Each corm will produce 2 or 3 flowering stems.

Gladioli and their long colourful spikes are symbolic of the 1970s 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 abundant, yet wildly romantic, flowering. Plant 'Angel Kisses', elegant and radiant, among grasses in the company of forget-me-nots and mignonette, for example, so as not to overshadow it. Play with the white of certain alstroemerias or columbines, for elegance, and add here and there a silvery foliage of artemisia or Stachys lanata. Gladioli are frequent visitors to cottage gardens, where they even accompany vegetables in the vegetable patch. For making bouquets, cut the flowering spikes when the first floret starts to open. Plant them at intervals of two weeks from early spring until the end of June to enjoy their blooms 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 Semites before the Christian era.