A couple of months ago, on Button Moon, I was handed a couple of boxes. These boxes contained bulbs and corms and were accompanied by a wide smile of pride. They were several weeks out of date and had been liberated from the bargain bin. But this was no ordinary bin. It was a Waitrose bargain bin. In return I offered my narrow smile of fear.
The planting times were past and they more shrivelled than ideal, but ever the obedient servant, I planted them and hoped for the best.
Purple anemones, palest lemon gladioli and crocosmia have all chortled at my concerns. None though have been more divine than Gladiolus murielae, the Abyssinian gladiolus. A glorious white and purple butterfly. I never doubted you for a moment.
Off The Edge Gardening 
Always worth a try, so glad your toil was not in vain.
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There was nothing lost, well only a couple of quid, and a lot gained!
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What a wonderful gift.
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I planted them in their garden, I wish I had some in mine, they are beautiful!
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Oh dear, I did not realise. Hope you get some for you.
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Fantastic. I must take more notice of bargain bins in the future. 🙂
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I’m not sure they are always such a good bet, but worth a risk maybe?!
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I have packets of out of date vegetable seeds – maybe next year I’ll mix them all together and plant up a couple of extra large pots and see what – if anything – emerges. 🙂
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I think that sounds like a brilliant idea, give it a go!
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I really like this Gladiolus. Bulbs are available and I could grow it as an annual here but never ventured; maybe next year 🙂
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That is the great thing about gardening – there is always next year! 🙂
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I do enjoy a good bargain bin, also the half dead reduced plant area!
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They are very tempting!
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Oh, these . . . . ‘look’ rad! Okay, so I never grew them. I wanted to because they might be perennial here, and because they were . . . . well, ‘affordable’. Okay, so they were cheap. I don’t know why they were cheap, but they were at the time; and I didn’t get any.
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You missed an opportunity there Tony, next time don’t hesitate.
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Next time, I just might get them. Otherwise, I will always wonder what I missed. For now, I am very pleased with Gladiolus papilio that someone sent to me from Washington last year. They are more subdued in color, but quite elegant. They just might be perennial here. In western Washington, they are apparently a bit too easy to grow.
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That is a nice Gladdy too, a fair swap 🙂
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I am unfamiliar with it, but am already pleased with it.
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A bonus…..those are lovely white gladioli
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They are wonderful 🙂
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