Archive for October, 2008

Tulips Gone Wild!


2008
10.20

photo from Colorblends


I bought some of these little wild tulips from Old House Gardens and a lot more from Colorblends. The tulips are about 10 inches tall and should naturalize in my zone 6 raised bed garden. Not many tulips will naturalize, or even put on a good show for more than a couple of years. Thomas Jefferson grew these bright yellow wild flowers at Monticello.

What is remarkable about this species tulip is the fragrance of violets. I buy heirloom bulbs because I like the history of the flower. Old House Gardens usually has a history of the plant on their website. And I like the idea that these plants are tried and true. You always get exactly what was described and it’s a flower that stood the test of time.

So, right now the little wild tulip bulbs are doing all their work about 4 inches underground. The big show, and photos from my garden, will come next spring.

No Blue Tulips


2008
10.01

Am I Blue?

the photo in the catalog.
Blue Parrot – blue tulip, with rich royal tones on blooms an impressive 8 to 10 inches wide! Blooms in mid- to late season on 20- to 22-inch stems.
the tulip in my garden

This Blue Parrot tulip is huge and one of the show stoppers in my spring garden. Truly beautiful. Not really blue.

Colorblends are High-grade, superior-quality bulbs. Their wholesale catalog says, “There is no such thing as a blue tulip. You’ll find tulips described and pictured as blue in catalogs and on the web, but when spring comes, the blue you longed for will be just another (lovely) shade of lilac, violet or plain old purple. Despite the ever-growing range of tulip colors, blue is still just a hybridizer’s dream.” http://www.colorblends.com

You won’t find truly black tulips either. Some tulips are very dark, like eggplants. They can look black in certain light, but black tulips do not exist.

You Say Tulips. Tulipa is a genus of bulbous flowering plants in the family Liliaceae.

Plant tulips anytime October through December – any time before the ground freezes. Feed tulips in the early spring, before they bloom.

April in Eureka Springs, AR, USA
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