Hi Mark, A lot of us love the South African Gladiolus species. If you'll look on the wiki, you will see quite a few pictures. Mark Mazer grows all kind of wonderful South African bulbs in his greenhouse in Conneticut. You can grow them from seed. Sources are Silverhill Seeds, PBS BX, IBSA seed exchanges. Gordon Summerfield also sells both seeds and bulbs, but the bulbs will be on the wrong hemisphere. Mary Sue