Sweetly scented

What a shock to smell this winter growing, spring flowering Gladioli carinatus when it bloomed for the first time yesterday. I smelt the perfume before I realised amongst all my tristis blooms this was lurking. its scent unlike G tristis is comparable to a Freesia, to my mind more sickly sweet. Its coped with sub zero temperatures for weeks in my unheated greenhouse, but despite this it has survived. Pollen has now been removed and in the freezer. I've put some summer flowering pollen to this, but as of yet, no pods are beginning to swell.

What a scent

Late night trips into the garden confirming chickens have been put away, always ends with a quick dash into the greenhouse to smell the night scented G tristis. It flowers in the garden too, but the scent is too easily dispersed. I have potfuls in full flower and the flowers seem to last longer than the summer flowering Glads, but it could be the lack of heat that the summer Glads encounter.

Gladioli species

Gladioli liliaceus, another Spring flowering Winter growing species. It's kept in an unheated greenhouse and seems to have done rather well. Thin wispy foliage like G tristis, as usual pollen from my Summer flowering has already been put to it.