The Bride and bridesmaid

The Bride is a very early cross from the 1800's, Gladioli tristis x Gladiolus cardinalis, it's semi hardy, but growing well outside in the South of England. this ones inside for pollen removal. A couple of years ago I put some tristis pollen back to it and lo and behold this is todays offering. You can see the tristis in it.

Although it's not a stunner and lacking in scent and bud count, it has hardiness and a lovely strong stem. Work in progress as they say. By the time you read this, the pollen will have been removed and drying!