Was Gladiolus - specifically G. palustris
Jane McGary (Tue, 21 Jan 2014 11:36:18 PST)

Jim Waddick wrote,

I have grown Gladiolus palustris for many years, without protection.
My former garden was not quite as cold as Jim's, but similar. This
and many of the other Eurasian Gladiolus species are meadow plants,
often seen in cultivated fields because they produce many tiny
offsets which are spread by plows. They also seed freely. They
tolerate dry summers but don't require them. All have small, bright
pink (rarely white) flowers in narrow spikes that show up well among
the grasses and other plants that usually surround them; they do best
with the support of nearby plants as they can be blown over if they
don't have it. Their best use in the garden is as bright accents
mingled with annuals or spotted among "ornamental" grasses. Seed is
readily available through exchanges and flowering plants can be had
the third year from sowing. Mature bulbs (actually corms) should be
planted fairly deep to limit their "breaking up" into small ones. If
you have a choice, I would choose G. illyricus or G. italicus over G.
palustris because they have larger flowers.

Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA