Gladiolus Victor Borge - Sword Lily

The gladiolus or Gladiolus 'Victor Borge' is a hybrid with large, bright red-orange flowers that can be seen from afar. It is ideal for adding colour to flower beds or as a cut flower. The stems are strong and carry numerous flowers.

Originating from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East and belonging to the family Iridaceae, the most colourful species of Gladiolus comes from South Africa. Cultivated gladioli are hybrids with large flowers, and they are divided into three main groups: Grandiflorus (large-flowered), Primulinus, and Nanus (butterflies). 'Pink Lady' is a perennial herbaceous plant with corms (globose bulbs) and broad sword-shaped leaves arranged in a fan shape, forming a 90 cm (35in) high tuft. The leaves are topped by a spike inflorescence with funnel-shaped flowers, 14 cm (6in) in diameter, arranged unilaterally and carried by strong stems. They are here red-orange washed with brick, slightly fringed on the petal edges.

Gladioli and their long colourful flower spikes, often flashy, symbolise the 70s and somewhat formal floral arrangements. While they are irreplaceable in bouquets and gardens, their silhouette needs the company of plants with lush foliage to enhance their somewhat dense but wildly romantic flowering. Plant them in groups in beds of sage, tobacco, willowherb, bee balms, wallflowers, and forget-me-nots to create large, colourful bouquets. They are regulars in cottage gardens, where they accompany vegetables to the vegetable garden. For bouquet arrangements, cut the flower spikes when the first floret opens. Plant them at two-week intervals from early spring until the end of June to have them flower in the house and garden all summer. 

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

About botanical gladioli:

Far from the cultivated blooms but offering the advantage of living like wild plants, botanical gladioli are an exciting alternative for lazy gardeners: it is entirely possible to welcome them into the garden, as many of them originate from our temperate climates and yet are very elegant:

The most common ones are Gladiolus byzantine, with pink-purple spring flowers, which naturalise Gladiolus x colvillei which displays flowers of various colours, usually marked pink or red in the throat. Among the vardy species that naturalise, we can mention Gladiolus communis, from southern Europe, 1 m (3ft) tall, adorned with pink flowers striped or spotted with white or red. Gladiolus illyricus, widespread from south England to the Caucasus, forms superb spikes of magenta-violet flowers streaked with white, reaching 1 m (3ft) in height. Gladiolus imbricatus bears crimson-violet flowers with a bright white spot outlined in purple crimson.