[Ballerina]
Today is lily flowered tulip day. These are so-called because of their recurvus petals, but otherwise they are a tulipy as any other tulip and could never be mistaken for a lily. They are often tall, always slender and graceful, and beautifully proportioned. 'Ballerina' is a fabulous tangerine colour and is also one of the very few fragrant tulips that can fill a room with a delicate, sweet scent very similar to that of freesias.
[top to bottom: Burgundy, West Point, Lilyrosa, Purple Dream]
Lily flowered tulips come in lovely pinks, purples, yellows - all very bright and breezy springtime colours which make a really uplifting bunch or arrangement. This one below has gone on the kitchen windowsill where I can enjoy watching the flowers bend and stretch and open out.
I also found a strip of 'Abu Hassan' tulips, a Triumph Tulip variety that the Peter Nyssen catalogue describes as 'mahogany' but which isn't quite that yet. Instead, it's a wonderful dried-blood colour with deep mustard-yellow edges. It's a rich, exotic combination and the jug full of them is now in our a very yellow lounge.
[Abu Hassan]
Regarding how we plant our bulbs, I have written about this before and the posts can be found in the Nov/Dec and April archives of different years (eg Nov 25 10, April 24 10, Dec 7 09). We plant them in deep straight trenches in a triangular patch of ground, and I used to plant in pots as well but find these don't do as well because by this time of year they need more water and sustenance than a pot of compost can provide. We re-plant each year because tulips bulbs are pretty much spent after one season; we pull them up at the end of the season or just leave them in the ground which then gets dug over when we plant fresh bulbs. There are a few exceptions: 'Ivory Floradale' comes up year after year, and species tulips repeat for several years if lest undisturbed. This year we also planted clumps of tulips in beds/borders and these look fantastic coming up amidst forget-me-nots and wallflowers and re-emerging perennials. Unlike many gardeners who leave border flowers for show, I am picking many of these, too (but leaving a few here & there for the view from the house windows). I buy all my bulbs from Peter Nyssen.
The garden isn't a show garden by any stretch of the imagination; I describe it as 'shaggy' and in some places there are as many rugby, tennis, cricket, golf and football balls as plants. I don't take many photos of it as a whole, but here's one with a little more background than a mop bucket.
Lovely, lovely, lovely!
Posted by: Lisa | April 14, 2011 at 14:00
I love these posts about your garden although they do may be horribly homesick for England...
Posted by: Kate | April 14, 2011 at 14:46
What can I say? You are without doubt the tulip queen!!
Posted by: Helen in Switzerland | April 14, 2011 at 14:54
Funny you should post about how/where you plant your tulips as I was going to ask if next year you could take a pic of your yard/garden when they are blooming! Your tulips are really a work of art and although you personally don't have anything to do with their beauty, your display and artfullness in letting us all enjoy them is not to be missed! Thank YOU!
Posted by: Susanne | April 14, 2011 at 15:28
my goodness, jane! what a glorious profusion of tulips you are enjoying. it's overwhelming to imagine. living in the desert, i've had to settle for a few happy bunches of store-bought daffodils, which are making me quite happy. you are certainly reaping the rewards of your generous sowing and tending. how beautiful.
Posted by: hydeeann | April 14, 2011 at 16:40
I think shaggy gardens are often the best gardens! I wish mine was a little more shaggy - at the moment I think I'd describe it as bald, however the 'transplant', as it were, is looming, only three more days to go. That mop bucket is really earning its keep - the tulips look rather wonderful against its watery depths.
Posted by: Charlotte | April 14, 2011 at 17:46
I am loveloveloving the parade of tulips! Thank you!
Posted by: Laura | April 14, 2011 at 21:19
why thank you Ms J!
Posted by: pixie | April 14, 2011 at 21:29
always enjoys your blog Jane but "tulip time" is my favourite. Gorgeous photos.
Posted by: Sweet Mary | April 14, 2011 at 22:42
Your blog is stunning. Would your next publication be perhaps a "Book of Blogs"? Something to consider.
Posted by: Bebe | April 15, 2011 at 01:21
Gorgeous! Thank you! I just Love gardens/flowers!
Posted by: Alexis hilgert | April 15, 2011 at 05:18
My goodness! How many tulip bulbs do you plant each year???
Posted by: Frances Roth | April 15, 2011 at 14:27
Wow, stunning. Thank you for your yearly documentation of all this wonderful evidence of spring. For those of us in colder climes, it's a welcome preview of things to come!
Posted by: Natalie | April 16, 2011 at 04:21