Gladiolus communis byzantinus

The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers. ~Basho

These come up every May/June... They are so bright and cheerful... a rich magenta. They have apparently been in England since at least the 16th century - originally from the meditteranean. Cornwall gardeners know them as Whistling Jack and English gardeners as Corn Flag. They are pretty much indigenous down here on the south coast... you see them sprouting up everywhere. They are also apparently a common sight in Cornish hedgerows. Certainly we never planted them but we are grateful for them nonetheless.

I so look forward to them every year and can't help but smile when they arrive. I also pray very hard that once their blossoms start to open, we don't experience an all too common summer storm off the Channel... which, needless to say, totally flattens them.