the freebie gladiolas

With Christmas on the way, I just have to give a belated shout-out to Heth's Hardware Hank in La Crescent, Minnesota. Ange and I were there last spring buying supplies for a home repair project we were working on. Heth's was the only hardware store in the surrounding area that had the specific items we needed. As we were getting ready to pay, I noticed that not too far from the checkout counter there was a large bin full of flower bulb packages marked "FREE." Turns out they were last year's bulbs that no one had purchased. Why not, I thought, I'd give them a try. I brought home one assortment package of five different varieties of bulbs.

When I opened the package, most of the bulbs were beyond hope, but there were 6 gladiola bulbs that looked like they had a spark of life left in them. Immediately I planted the six bulbs in our backyard flower bed among my daylilies. I watered them thoroughly and expected nothing. I had never grown gladiolas before so what a surprise I got when these plants emerged from the ground, healthy as could be. As you can see by the photo, they were absolutely beautiful--a brilliant red-orange. In late October, after a frost, I dug the bulbs out to over-winter them in the basement. Those six bulbs had multiplied into about 75-100 little bulblets. Wow! I was able to share them, and now these gladiola bulbs will live on for years to come.

Thanks, Heth's!!