Many gardeners like flower beds, where gladioli occupy a central place. They look especially bright during flowering - in the fall. Since they are inexpensive, and caring for them is simple, it will be useful for young housewives to learn from this article where it is better to plant them in a summer cottage, in a garden.

Combination with other flowers and plants

Gladiolus, or fennel, is characterized by beautiful sword-shaped leaves and colorful inflorescences-spikelets of large sizes. These are rather tall flowers: some varieties can grow up to 2 m in height. There are hundreds of species and thousands of varieties of gladiolus with different colors and petals.

Did you know? The largest gladiolus— group of corrugated varieties. Their inflorescences with original squeezed edges of the petals can reach 60 cm in length and consist of 15 flowers.

This makes it possible to compose various garden compositions with them. In a group of 8-10 bulbs, they resemble a magnificent bouquet. If you acquire some skills in landscaping with a fencer, you can create a bed of fabulous beauty.

The gladiolus plant was named after the sword of the Roman legionnaires - the gladius, which looks like its long, sharp leaves. It was believed that the roots and bulbs of gladioli bring good luck to soldiers in battles.

Here are tips for beginner gardeners about combining gladioli with other flowers in the country or near the house:

1. For mixed color groups, try planting the skewer in the background.. A flowering plant is distinguished by expressiveness and a high stem, therefore, other flowers will overshadow in the foreground. Best of all, it will be combined with fine-decorative neighboring plants.
2. Use these perennials as a compositional and color emphasis rather than a background flower.
3. In the second and third plan you can place skewers of low grades.
4. Choose companions for the plant according to the flower garden depending on the time and duration of their flowering. In mixborders throughout the season there should be flowering, lush plants.
5. In the spring, when the bulbs of the gladiolus have not yet pecked, next to them will harmoniously coexist crocuses, primrose, daffodils, tulips. Later they can be replaced irises, peonies.
6. In summer, great neighbors will be awl-shaped phloxes, day-lily, catnip. At the end of the summer period, the gladioli themselves will bloom.
7. For the autumn neighborhood, choose different varieties asters, chrysanthemum.
8. Take care of the neighborhood with the cannes. These are very tall flowers, the tubers of which also need to be dug up for the winter. The flowers of the skewer and cannas are very similar. If you decide on such a combination, then place the cannons in the background, and plant lower-grade skewers in front of them.
9. Not the best friends of this flower will be high dahlias. You can use only low curb varieties.

Create Scenery

Since skewers need to be dug up for the winter, they are best planted compactly in the ground. They love an open, elevated place without excess moisture.

Here are some rules for creating skewer decorations on flower beds:

1. As a border of fenders of moderate width, use small-flowering low varieties. Such decor can be applied on paths, discounts, lawns, lawns.
2. Do not put tall plants next to this perennial that are blooming at the same time. Such crops may be mallow.
3. To make it easier to remove the bulbs for the winter, do not plant nearby several annual plants.
4. Leave free space near the skewer, making it easy to care for.
5. Do not place brightly blooming plants that blur the effect of gladiolus.
6. Neighboring flowers should be small or medium height so as not to overshadow the skewers.
7. The best companions will be plants with rounded lace foliage, which effectively emphasizes the thin xiphoid leaves of the flower.
8. Do not create too large a monolithic flower garden from one gladiolus. It will resemble planting flowers to cut.
9. High stems of the plant often need a garter, because inflorescences bend to the ground from the wind and rain. It is worth considering a spectacular support, which will become a decoration of the garden.

Important! Do not plant one or two bulbs all alone. Best will be a company of 10 flowers, not more.

The right background for gladioli

A suitable background for the skewer is uniform green foliage, conifers. In the foreground, it is better to place bushes with beautiful foliage. Perfect Iberis, thyme, agastache, initial letter, southern baptisia, dubrovnik, yarrow meadowsweet. Grain always looked spectacularly with a gladiolus: cecelriaoatmeal, millet, sandy grate.

A permanent resident in the flower beds of cities is the jailer (hare ears). It will also be a good background.

A great addition to the skewer will be heichera, hostsas well as annual marigold, zinnias, Snapdragon. Tall, burgundy, blue-violet varieties white or blue ageratums, celosia, silver cineraria. Edging can be made from lobularia.

Important! Do not blame the sellers if you have grown a flower of a different shade than they showed you in the picture. The color of the skewer can be affected by the type of soil, the age of the bulbs and the degree of illumination.

Interesting Design Ideas

If you have no experience in growing gladioli on your flower beds, you can borrow the following ideas:

1. Composition of low spirea or barberry. Gladioli can be planted in a circle near these bushes. They will serve as a wonderful backdrop.
2. Ensemble of perennials of different heights: low in the foreground, then medium, and high in the back. It is better to plant varieties of similar shades: blue, pastel beige, soft purple. Avoid too bright tones: raspberry, red, lilac, blue. The most popular shades: pink, peach, salmon, lemon.
3. Round flowerbed with gladioli in the center. Around them you can plant a low-growing varietal incense: it blooms early and has beautiful leaves.
4. Combination with petunias. It is important to take into account their color palette, so that they are combined with the skewer.
5. The addition of potted flowers. Callas are great. When they fade, the pots can be removed.

The sword-shaped foliage of gladioli decorates any flower bed, and their magnificent inflorescences do not leave anyone indifferent. Having shown color taste and sense of proportion, you can create unique compositions with this large and bright flower.