My Little Garden 29th April 2023
Are we ready for a few more tulips then? They are probably at their best in my garden right now, with most varieties in flower and none past their best. I love this time of year, and tulips are my absolute favourites. Perhaps it’s in the genes, as my Dutch grandfather, who died long before I was born, came from a bulb-growing family in Rijnsburg, Netherlands.
There have been a few surprises in this year’s tulips, with some bulbs not turning out as expected, but as I bought from a number of sources, it’s not clear where they came from. Fortunately, one ‘surprise’ is an absolute beauty, so it’s not a complete disaster.
For the first of my six choices this week I’m starting with a bit of an anomaly. I confess I’d never really heard of multiheaded tulips, but when I looked them up, there a few are listed, albeit not the one in my garden.
- Multi-headed Tulipa ‘Doll’s Minuet’
It’s not the best photo, but you might be able to make out the three separate flowers.
And here it is with its companions T. Negrita Double, T. Green King, and T. Black Hero, and you can see the three stems clearly. Some of the flowers have three stems, some two and a couple just have one. It’s not my best-ever combination of tulips, and I doubt I’ll ever buy T. Green King again, but it’s a very cheerful border with alliums poised to follow on.
2. T. Negrita
I’ve always liked Negrita, especially as a contrast to orange tulips, and the markings on this double version are really pretty.
3. Tulipa Grand Perfection
One of the ‘surprise’ tulips and isn’t it gorgeous. One to remember!
The inside of ‘Grand Perfection’.
4. Tulipa ‘Queen of the Night’
A very popular tulip which I’ve never grown before. I think it makes a great contrast to the brickwork of my porch.
5. Tulipa ‘Cairo’
In my front garden, I tend to go for yellow, oranges and red colours, and this is Cairo.
6. Random mix
And since I’ve got to this stage without deviating from tulips, I think I might as well carry on. I think the red one is ‘National Velvet’, alongside ‘Ronaldo’ and ‘Grand Perfection’ and possibly a stray ‘Black Hero’. Oh and there’s some ‘Greenland’ lurking at the back.
I promise not to overdo the tulips next week, although ‘Acuminata’ is about to flower, so there will be at least one.
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Have a great weekend.
