The message
from Sacha contains these words:

Mary Fisher12/2/04 11:47


I don't know why anyone wants gladioli anyway ...

Oh? Well, different tastes and all that. Personally, I find Gladiolus
papillo absolutely enchanting.

Snap :-) The airy delicate flowers are white, with a chocolate-purple
stain in the centre and fabulous scent. A million miles from those
heavy, gawky garish things you might throw at Dame Edna Everage.

Our previous garden was so cold I only dared grow papilio in pots in the
conservatory. Last summer, for the first time ever, I planted them
direct in the garden and they flowered in autumn. They make a lovely cut
flower too. Autumn was so mild that the leaves were still green by
Christmas, so I just left them in the ground, piled on some mulch and
will see if they survived. If not, they are so cheap I'll just get
another batch .(GC's, B and Q etc usually sell them in packets of 25
corms for £2-ish, round about now).

Janet.