Planting is done individually (all 1,000+ for Terry) at a depth of 2" in his heavy soil but 4" in sandy soil, on a handful of horticultural grit. Glads prefer an open, sunny position in enriched, well-draining soil. Terry uses lots of horse manure and leaf mould to enrich his soil and creates 4ft wide beds, with the paths covered in moist newspapers to keep the weeds down and where possible covered with old carpet. (He does not compost the old foliage and add it to the beds for if spores were present they would spread disease.)
Terry completes his planting before the end of April, then has a relaxing holiday in May as in the first six weeks of growth the plants are not touched at all. It is vital that they set good roots and establish themselves quickly. After care then involves mainly weeding and the removal of extra shoots. After a bad attack by geese a few years ago the plots are also stringed to deter the birds.
In July the glads are earthed up like potatoes to prevent too much wind damage and the created trenches will collect rain. Individual plants (still without the flower heads) are also carefully staked with 3ft canes, inserted at an angle to avoid damaging the corm, to prevent them blowing over. Later 6ft canes are used to support the flower heads and caps placed on the canes to protect eyes. Continuous checking and tying in of the flowerspikes (nice and loosely) is then the main task and attention to hygiene is most important so all dead foliage is promptly removed. Top exhibitors also spend hours and hours pushing the buds gently forward so that all florets open in the forward position.
It takes a lot of dedication to take glads to shows, they have to be transported all wrapped up in cotton wool, but Terry loves going to shows. Like fuchsia growing the basic principles are the same, it is dedication and enjoyment.
Terry invited people interested in knowing more to visit him when passing but warned that if you pick the busy season you'll be shown where the kettle is. Locally more information can be obtained from the Yorkshire Gladioli Society, which he reckons is the best - some praise from a Lancastrian.
(Secretary Dave Willoughby,166 The Lanes, East Dene, Rotherham, Yorkshire, S65-3SB)

Our March meeting saw a first for our Society. A Fuchsia Workshop. An evening of practical advice and tips as experienced members of the Society were 'cornered' to share their expertise.
An informal affair with ample opportunity to get all your growing queries dealt with had been part of the description for the evening and the 'experts' were certainly put to the test with many fascinating questions. Being an extremely quiet person (though some of my fellow committee members will find this hard to believe) working on my own with not a soul to talk to all day (well, I usually can hardly get a word in at lunchtime) I found it extremely hard going to keep on talking all evening long. Not a shortage of things to say, but just physically getting a sore throat! No wonder our normal speakers insist on glasses of water to keep them going, now I know why!
The start of the evening was slightly muddled as we hadn't quite enough time to get the seating fully re-arranged before the first members arrived. However once it was explained that the meeting would sort of be a succession of mini talks in each corner with the 'audience' rotating after every twenty minutes or so, members settled down in their seats and soon got into the swing of things and started to enjoy themselves.
As well as listening attentively, they posed some most interesting questions and, at times, even managed to shut up the 'experts' completely by having little discussions amongst themselves. Excellent! This was the great plus point of the evening. Not only was a wealth of cultural information forthcoming from the 'experts' but the members exchanged so much more amongst themselves - there was such an buzz going at the coffee break too!
Yes, I think we can consider this experiment a huge success judging by the number of members who said how much they enjoyed the evening. Not only because of the knowledge gained but also because it was such a happy social gathering. Looks like we will put it on the agenda again then, but we are looking for guidance from you, our members, as to what subject matter to cover and at what time of the year to hold another workshop next year. Don't be shy to come forward, the Society is there for you, to provide for you, our members, what you like, so please let the committee know your wishes. As soon as possible please as the speakers for next year need to be booked up very shortly.                     continued