this is why i grow tulips
So that I can go out in my pyjamas on a Sunday morning before everyone else is up,
and pick a few short and stubby but incredibly bright and beautiful
late double (or peony) tulips called 'Orange Princess' (which I do not remember ordering last summer) to put in a short and stubby glass vase to make my kitchen windowsill look incredibly bright and beautiful.
So that I can also pick a gaudy mixed bunch for another windowsill.
So that I can bask in their glory for a few brief days.
So that I am reminded that I have something to look forward in the horrible, cold, miserable bulb-planting month of November.
They are stunning Jane. I love the peony ones. Maybe this Autumn I'll get round to planting some bulbs - tulips are one of my most favourite flowers...
Posted by: Jen | April 27, 2008 at 04:18 PM
Breathtaking, Jane. Thanks for the punch my spring needed. It's so dreary in Pennsylvania and I am in need of a much needed burst of color.
Posted by: Ava | April 27, 2008 at 04:27 PM
They are magnificent! I love looking at your pictures in each post. They are so beautiful they bring tears to my eyes with your gorgeous colour sense. Thank you for sharing them with us!.
Posted by: Misty the Kneedler | April 27, 2008 at 04:49 PM
.....and this is why I love your blog, your tulip pictures make me smile, you must live in a warmer bit of UK than me because my tulips are still hidden inside their green jackets.
Tulipmania may have passed but I still think they are the best flowers for giving a spring boost to everyone. Hardy Geraniums would take the summer "best flower" prize
Posted by: Xtiand | April 27, 2008 at 05:25 PM
I'm a great fan of a touch of orange and these are lovely. I sow and grow companion crop calendula in the spring - Orange King. Cheap and cheerful!
Posted by: Colleen | April 27, 2008 at 05:31 PM
Those tulips are extraordinary! I love tulips, sadly, where I live here in the US, tulips are deer candy. They don't seem to like daffodils much so I've been planting daffodils aplenty. But the only tulips are the ones I buy at the market and keep in vases in the house. Sigh. Thanks for providing my tulip fix for the morning!
Posted by: Susan | April 27, 2008 at 06:02 PM
That's EXACTLY why I plant tulips too! I just did that same thing on Thursday night before a big rainstorm! Posting my photos on my blog today if you want to peek!
Posted by: Amanda | April 27, 2008 at 06:35 PM
I love your tulips!
Posted by: Kristina | April 27, 2008 at 07:00 PM
Thank you for sharing.
Posted by: Ellen | April 27, 2008 at 08:16 PM
Very timely as we drift into our horrible cold bulb planting month of May. I have a huge bag of mostly daffodils to plant this year, but a few other odds and ends. Your tulips are gorgeous!
Posted by: EnnaVic | April 27, 2008 at 10:10 PM
GORGEOUS! the orange princess is most beautiful!
Posted by: Melana | April 27, 2008 at 10:26 PM
Apart from being beautiful all by themselves, your tulips serve as a perfect reminder that here at the other end of the world I need to plant bulbs. How convenient!
Posted by: kate | April 28, 2008 at 12:55 AM
You're tulips are stunning! They are one of my favorite flowers, though my late season ones are not in bloom yet. As always, your photos are amazing.
Posted by: Erin | April 28, 2008 at 03:16 AM
Tulips have got to be one my favorite flowers. I have to stop myself from buying them every time I pass a flower shop (and there's a lot of them in my neighborhood). Thanks for posting your pics!
Posted by: Michele | April 28, 2008 at 03:17 AM
....ohh wohhh your tulips are beyond beautiful!!! I planted a couple in November for the same reasons...but by far not as many...but I think each single one is pure delight!!!And yours are just heavenly!!
Posted by: Anke | April 28, 2008 at 07:41 AM
Gorge! Are those some Queen of the Night in there? They are my utter favorites.
Posted by: Gemma | April 28, 2008 at 01:00 PM
Love the colors of your bouquet! So vivid!
Posted by: Rachel | April 28, 2008 at 02:45 PM
Ooh! These are gorgeous. I love orange. They are going on the must list. Thank you. :>
Posted by: Elizabeth | April 28, 2008 at 03:30 PM
I can definitely see why you grow tulips!! BRILLIANT!
Posted by: thedoodlegirl | April 28, 2008 at 04:14 PM
I admired "Orange Princess" at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show, on Friday. I was volunteering on the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society stand. I can highly recommend people watching at a flower show. Talking tulips for a few hours was very pleasant. I'm glad I didn't have to answer the lady who asked "which tulips will go with my new curtains?"
Posted by: wren | April 28, 2008 at 04:49 PM
They're STUNNING! Yay for spring :)
Posted by: Mymsie | April 28, 2008 at 05:18 PM
LOVE the colours. Your blogging has made me so much more aware of the gorgeous tulips in gardens I pass on the way to work
Posted by: eleanorjackson | April 28, 2008 at 05:42 PM
Wow. Have to check in from time to time to get my colour fix
Posted by: mindfulbeader | April 28, 2008 at 05:43 PM
the purple next to the orange is amazing! what type are the purple ones?
Posted by: heatherly | April 28, 2008 at 05:53 PM
Those are absolutely gorgeous, and your pictures are just breathtaking!
Posted by: Courtney | April 28, 2008 at 06:21 PM