Thank you! That is exactly what it is. I thought it was a shrub because it was about as tall as I am.. 5ft. Very beautiful. I was in awe over it. Thanks again!

A drift of 100 I planted on Camano Island (north of Everett, WA) some years ago produced about 3 flower spikes in total the first year. I have no recollection of subsequent growth, as though the planting rapidly dwindled away or died out completely the first winter. What I've read about this plant for decades plus additional reading I did yesterday makes me think future attempts in this climate would best involve a south-facing wall, repeated summer watering, fertilization and some kind of winter protection. The American Gardener's World of Bulbs, Judy Glattstein, 1994, Little, Brown and Company: Where the temperature remains at least 10F above freezing in winter they may be left in the ground, provided they can be kept quite dry during this resting season The Larger Bulbs, Brian Matthew, 1978, B.T. Batsford: G. callianthus is an easy plant to grow but is not hardy in most parts of Britain. Near the Sussex Coast it persisted and flowered for many years in the chalky soil in a hot sunny spot but even in Surrey I do not find it winter-hardy. The corms should be planted in a warm sheltered position in early May and lifted in autumn before any serious frosts occur Garden Bulbs for the South, Scott Ogden, 2007, Timber Press: Along the Gulf Coast, Abyssinian gladioli may be expected to return if they have been well fed and watered. In the upper South, they may be dug and stored over winter Bulb, Anna Pavord, 2009, Mitchell Beazley: In certain well-mulched places in my Dorset garden it survives the winter Book of Bulbs, Roger Phillips, 1989, Random House: the corms are not hardy, but will survive outside in mild climates or if protected from freezing Christopher Lloyd's Garden Flowers, Christopher Lloyd, 2000, Timber Press: tender but lends itself to pot culture Perennial Garden Plants, Graham Stuart Thomas, 1990, Sagapress/Timber: the corms ... need lifting in all but the warmest of gardens Ogden (2007) actually groups it in his book with bulbs for damp places and Phillips (1989) shows it flowering in the wild on a dripping wet cliff. This post was edited by bboy on Fri, Oct 17, 14 at 14:09

Very pretty and fallish! It does look like roses growing all wild!

That sounds wonderful. Her recipes usually do. Thanks for posting this.