The frilly, funnel-shaped flowers of Gladiolus 'Break of Dawn' are gleaming white with pastel yellow centers, and they create a sunny sunrise amid a stand of sword-shaped, gray-green foliage.
Gladiolus plants are tender flowering plants that grow from corms. Mainly from South Africa, tropical Africa and the Mediterranean area, these heat lovers are often referred to as "sword lilies" for their distinctive upright leaf blades and tall flower spikes.
Membership in the Iridaceae family (the word "iris" means rainbow) only hints at the astonishing range of colors displayed in the large, funnel-shaped ruffled blooms of their many species and cultivars.
