I like to consider myself a pretty good amateur gardener who could’ve been very happy as a botanist. This summer, before the heat and draught abducted my spirit, I happily watched my newest garden additions grow. Heirloom gladiolas named “Boone,” were a delight in my garden. As I often do, I decided to take photos of the newest flowers. I was so pleased with my purchase from Old House Gardens, a company that specializes in heirloom varieties, that I e-mailed them a copy of a photo. Low and behold, they asked to use it in their newsletter. And in their newsletter they said this:
‘Boone’ Rocks Amy’s Garden — and the Cover of Fine Gardening
A huge bouquet of ‘Boone’ glads from our micro-farms was gracing our office work-table when an email arrived reminding us that even one ‘Boone’ can be a thrill. “I just wanted to pass along a photo of my lovely ‘Boone’ gladiolus,” our good customer Amy Darnell of Columbia, Missouri, wrote. “I am so, so glad I bought it!”
Then the very next day the October issue of one of our favorite magazines, Fine Gardening, arrived with a big beautiful clump of ‘Boone’ on the cover! At first we didn’t recognize it because it looks vivid orange in the photo rather than the soft apricot it is in our gardens, but we know how hard it is to get flower colors just right. And although the accompanying article says it’s hardy in zones 8-10 only and will probably need staking — which is usually true of mainstream glads — ‘Boone’ is a hardy perennial here in our zone-6a gardens, and we never stake it. See Amy’s and FG’s photos — and then maybe grab a few for your own garden? As Amy says, you’ll be so, so glad you did.”
Cool.
