Gladioli 'Milka'

Lovely, lacy, lavender blue florets with a softly shaded heart.

As well as being fabulously flamboyant, Gladioli are hardy, economical and reliable performers that can be pretty easily timed for a succession of towering, vibrant summer colour.

Gladioli are ideal in clumps or woven through beds, where their impressive colour range makes them a cinch to combine with other perennial plants such as Lilies, Salvias, Roses or Dahlias. They are also excellent in the picking garden. This year I had mine amongst the perennial grasses and they mingled well.

Gladioli bring a welcome dimension of height to your garden and come in a huge array of colours so there is something to suit everyone and every garden colour scheme. The bulbs are easy to plant and don't require a lot of fuss, humbly requiring sun and well drained soil.

It is best to wait until after frosts for planting.

It is a good idea to ensure you plant your Gladioli bulbs deeply enough, this will reduce the need for staking. Gladioli like a sunny position and you need to ensure you keep them moist when they are in flower for best results. From planting they will take 90-120cm days to flower – quicker in warmer weather. Our Tip: If you’d rather not stake/tie Gladdies, as they start to flower mound some soil at their base to help hold them up.