# 2831 - 1994 29c Summer Garden Flowers: Gladiola

Stamp Category:  Commemorative

Series:  Garden Flowers

Value:  29c – First-Class postage rate

First Day of Issue:  April 28, 1994

First Day City:  Cincinnati, Ohio

Quantity Issued:  35,202,800

Printed By:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Printing Method:  Lithographed and engraved

Format:  Printed in four panes of 5 vertical se-tenant stamps

Perforations: 10.9 vertically

 

Why the stamp was issued:  Partof the 5-stamp “summer” booklet set of the Garden Flowers Series, the Gladiolus stamp was one of the “bright, pretty American stamps” the US Postal Service was hoping people would buy. 

The stamp fulfilled the then-current first-class postage rate of 29c. 

 

About the stamp design:  The stamp was designed by artist Ned Seidler, who had designed the1993 garden flowers stamps.  Seidler used the same clever technique as before, with the lily appearing to be part of the same bouquet, along with the zinnia, lily, marigold, and rose. 

 

The painting was a combination of watercolor and gouache.  Gouache is a thicker, opaque form of watercolor.   

 

First Day of Issue Ceremony:  The ceremony was held at the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, Flower and Garden Show.

 

About the Series:  On May 15, 1993, the USPS issued the first installment in the Garden Flower Series, which would honor flowers that bloom in each of the four seasons.

 

This series was born out of the 1992 Wildflowers issue.  That project had begun when the USPS asked an artist to produce color sketches of a group of garden flowers.  Instead, the artist gave the USPS illustrations of wildflowers.  The USPS liked them so much, it decided to create a 50-stamp pane, showing wildflowers that can be found in each state.

           

The USPS still liked the garden flowers idea.  Part of the push behind these stamps had come from the sale of stamps in supermarkets and other retailers.  People said they wanted “bright, pretty American stamps.”  The USPS decided flower booklets would please the public.  It ran TV commercials and full-page advertisements in stamp publications announcing “The flowers are in bloom at your post office.  Buy them while they last!” and “Pick up a bunch.”  The Garden Flowers booklet was the first to be produced on the new Goebel booklet machine, which was the first to print multicolor covers.

           

The stamps were issued on May 15, 1993, in Spokane, Washington at the 55th annual Spokane Lilac Festival and International Lilac Society Convention.  Though not announced at the time, these stamps were to be the first in a new series of seasonal flower booklets.

           

The second booklet in the series was issued on April 28, 1994, at the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, Flower and Garden Show.  It featured summer garden flowers.  Some people took issue with one of the stamps, which used the word “gladiola” rather than gladiolus. 

           

The third booklet in the series was issued on September 19, 1995, at the Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, California.  This booklet featured fall blooms, though some people noted that depending on where you live in the country, some of these flowers could grow in the summer or even the spring.  One USPS representative responded that “The idea with this series was to show a grouping of flowers that would be together somewhere in a garden at the same time.  It’s not scientific.  It’s meant to be more for mass-market appeal, as opposed to botanical.”

           

The final booklet in the series was issued on January 19, 1996, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  The flowers selected for these stamps are the hardiest plants that grow anywhere in the country that experiences winter weather.

 

The history behind the stamp: 

           

Throughout their colorful history, flower bulbs have been used for flavorings and medicines, traded for exorbitant prices, and emblazoned on the banners of royalty.  But for thousands of years they have been grown, above all, for their beauty in gardens.  A billion-dollar business, bulbs account for $300 million in sales a year.  Although tulips are the most popular worldwide, the gladiolus is still the best-selling bulb in the U.S.

           

Often called the sword lily, the gladiolus most likely gets its name from its long sword-like leaves.  In fact, its name in Latin means “little dagger.”  Large, silky flowers grow above one another in clusters along one side of the stem. The lower blossoms open first, and if a spike is cut when only the lower flowers are in bloom, the buds above them will continue to open.  For this reason, the gladiolus is a favorite cut flower.  A mainstay of the florist trade, more land in the United States (over 20,000 acres) is devoted to raising them commercially than to any other bulb.

           

This stately flower ranges from one foot to over five feet tall in height and comes in every color of the rainbow - including a blue gladiolus which is grown mainly in South Africa.  The most popular colors though, are red, orange, and white.