They are the most popular and most anticipated of spring's flowers — but also full of surprises.
Variety of Tulips
Perhaps
the only thing more beautiful than a tulip in the spring garden is a
densely planted display or the flowers intermingled with low blooming
plants. It's an even more captivating sight when that display includes
a selection of tulip cultivars — some a single splash of color, others
streaked, spattered, or edged.
Lilac Wonder
Enamored is a
word long associated with tulips, ever since they were first cultivated
as early as 1,000 A.D. — not in present-day Holland, as many people
think, but in Central Asia and Turkey. The Turks introduced this
novelty, originally a native wildflower, to the Dutch in 1593. The
Dutch became so enamored of the flames of color and uniqueness of
blooms that tulips became the obsession of the 1630s. During the peak
of the Dutch tulip craze, a single bulb of some cultivars took on the
value of an entire estate.
Vase of Pink Tulips
Creating arrangements
is easy with tulips, whether they're featured as a single color, in a
cheerful mix of tone on tone blooms, or in combinations of contrasting
hues. Arrange tulips in a formal vase, or tuck them into a mason jar
and allow them to drape gracefully.