With misty, shimmering, soft lavender-pink petals, ‘Contentment’ is hauntingly beautiful. Lightly ruffled and strong-growing, it was once the world’s leading lavender glad, but today it’s all but lost. 4 feet, from Michigan. Chart to compare.

Small-flowered and informal, ‘Elvira’ is a perky soft pink with its lower petals splashed with ruby. It’s one of the Nanus group of petite, early-blooming, hardier-than-most glads, and perfect for summer’s simple, no-fuss bouquets. 2-3 feet, from Holland. Chart to compare.

This landmark pink has won every prize there is for glads, and 60-some years after it first bloomed for the legendary Carl Fischer it’s still considered world-class. Frosty pink with a luminous throat, it’s refreshingly cool and exceptionally healthy. 4 feet, from Holland. Chart to compare.

Yoda’s favorite glad? With its flaring side petals, this exotic little glad may at least remind you of that big-eared Jedi master. A bit larger than ‘Atom’, it’s a brilliant paprika-orange splashed with gold and absolutely dazzling. As for its name, if you know what it means, please let us know! Small-flowered, 3-4 feet, from Maine and Michigan. Chart to compare.

With velvety petals of an incredibly dark, intense ruby shaded with burgundy and smoke, this 50-something glad is still turning heads. Order early — it always sells out early! 3-4 feet, from Maine and Michigan. Chart to compare.

As featured in both Garden Gate and The Old-House Journal! Small-flowered and richly patterned, this little gem is very much like the rococo glads of the late 1800s. Rosy-peach with a blaze of scarlet and gold – one stem in a bud vase is all you’ll need. 3 feet, from Maine. Chart to compare.

New! For sheer elegance, it’s hard to beat white glads, and this Depression-era survivor with its intriguing pink anthers was a florists’ favorite for decades. In 1954, Gladiolus magazine called it an “excellent old variety”, and well into the 1960s it was widely praised as “sturdy,” “stately,” and “exquisite” — before it virtually disappeared. 4 feet tall, from Maine. Chart to compare.

Named for the traditional quilt pattern of little girls in over-sized bonnets, this small-flowered glad is a warm apricot-buff with a sprinkling of freckles in its golden throat. Customers at our local Farmers Market loved it as a cutflower, and it’s even better when you grow your own. 3-4 feet, from Maine and Michigan. Chart to compare.

Like a flaxen-haired pre-schooler, this cute little glad with flowers no bigger than ‘Atom’ is the epitome of summer’s sunny, carefree days. Its pale blond petals deepen to gold in the center, it’s famously vigorous, and we’re happy that we once again have enough to share with you. Small-flowered, 3-4 feet, from Maine and Michigan. Chart to compare.

A rich, full-bodied purple, this vintage glad adds a deep note of counterpoint to gardens and bouquets. White strokes on the lower petals — pollen guides for bees — make it all the more elegant. 4 feet, from Maine. Chart to compare.

“Lemon-hearted ‘White Friendship’ has never been surpassed,” says garden super-star Ann Lovejoy who recommends combining it with golden feverfew and blue morning glories. It’s one of the 20th-century’s finest glads, vigorous, lightly ruffled, and radiant. 3-4 feet, from Holland. Chart to compare.