MN Gladiolus Society brings one-of-kind show to NU
Minnesota Gladiolus Society Show Chairwoman Joy Clobes and society president Lew Wallace discuss this year’s shows while standing in the center the gladiolus spike display at the New Ulm Civic Center. Photo by Clay Schuldt
A railroad themed gladiolus arrangement created by President of the Minnesota Gladiolus Society Lew Wallace for the Minnesota Gladiolus Society show. The arrangement was part of the show’s America 250 theme. Photo by Clay Schuldt
A Thanksgiving theme gladiolus arranged created by Jessica Willegal received some of the top ribbons during Minnesota Gladiolus Society Show. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Minnesota Gladiolus Society Show Chairwoman Joy Clobes and society president Lew Wallace discuss this year’s shows while standing in the center the gladiolus spike display at the New Ulm Civic Center. Photo by Clay Schuldt
A railroad themed gladiolus arrangement created by President of the Minnesota Gladiolus Society Lew Wallace for the Minnesota Gladiolus Society show. The arrangement was part of the show’s America 250 theme. Photo by Clay Schuldt
A Thanksgiving theme gladiolus arranged created by Jessica Willegal received some of the top ribbons during Minnesota Gladiolus Society Show. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Trending
NEW ULM - The Minnesota Gladiolus Society celebrated America's 250th birthday during its Brown County Fair show last weekend.
The New Ulm Civic Center south arena was filled with 359 individual gladiolus spikes and 70 gladiolus arrangements all based around the theme of American history.
Show Chairwoman Joy Clobes said they tried to provide participants with American-themed props for the arrangements. This included unique American inventions and symbols of the country’s past. Some arrangements embraced railroad imagery and others focused on classic American inventions like blue jeans or different national holidays.
Overall, Clobes said this year's show was another success with a high level of participation.
Lew Wallace, president of the Minnesota Gladiolus Society, said the recent growing season for gladiolus was strong. He actually planted late in May this year, but he had his first bloom of red gladiolus within 32 days.
The benefit of a strong growing season is that the society had extra glad spikes this year for use in the arrangements. Every year some of the gladiolus growers in the society provide extra flower spikes for the arrangement contest at the show.
"You don't need to grow your own gladiolus to be part of the arrangement competition," Wallace said. "We will provide you with the spikes."
By providing individuals with spikes, it helps inspire new people to try their hand at arrangement.
Clobes said it was a good year for local participants and passing the torch to the next generation. This year Jessica Willegal of Gibbon won ribbons for best intermediate interpretation arrangement and best overall arrangement.
Clobes said she began mentoring Willegal when she was 12 and was proud to see her talents continue to grow.
Clobes also acknowledged the work of the Meyer family of Elgin. John Meyer of Rochester is known for creating impressive hybrid gladiolus spikes. Meyer had to recently step back from creating hybrids for health reasons, but his family stepped up and submitted their own gladiolus hybrids.
Clobes said a lot of the gladiolus on display at the show are specialized.
"These are not what you would find at a big box seed store," she said. "You've got to buy these from specialists in creating hybrids."
She said it can be a challenge to create hybrid gladiolus spikes. Though they look pretty, some of them are not sturdy and prone to illness. Other hybrids might be perfectly healthy, but cannot multiply for further propagation. That means some of the hybrids are one-of-a-kind that cannot be recreated.
Clobes said she became interested in gladiolus in the 1980s after seeing an advertisement for a garden in St. Charles.
The glad spikes were placed in a wicker basket that was in a rickshaw.
"I thought, 'wow!' and now here I am 40 years later, making my own basket arrangements."
Wallace said he and his wife Tammy were studying to be judges with the horticulture society and they were invited to a gladiolus show in Winnipeg. They attended to expand their knowledge and ended up falling in love with gladiolus.
The Winnipeg show had several Minnesota exhibitors and it wasn't long before Wallace became a member of the Minnesota Society.
He said the first Minnesota gladiolus show he attended was at New Ulm’s Marktplatz Mall in 1996. This was coincidentally Clobes’ first glad show with the Minnesota Society. They agreed the 1996 show was extremely impressive; 30 years later, they are still coming to the show, but now it’s at the New Ulm Civic Center.
Since 2009, the Minnesota Gladiolus Show has been held at the New Ulm Civic Center during the Brown County Fair.
"It is one of the few places we can hold the glad show," Clobes said.
In order to prevent the gladiolus spikes from wilting, the show needs to be held in a climate-controlled location. Before 2009, the glad show was held at malls, but there was a problem.
"No one wanted to visit a mall to see the show," Clobes said.
In the summer months, people did not want to spend their day at a mall. However, people were more than happy to visit a county fair.
"We want people to see the show and here in New Ulm, it gets seen," Clobes said.