Looking more like Missoni print fabric or a crayon drawing…these are the flower fields of Holland.
As the original shippers noted, the flower has no scent, no medicinal purpose, tastes disgusting and blooms for only a few weeks each, yet oh what blooms.
The Dutch were so enamoured of them that at the height of Tulip-mania in the 1630’s, the price of a good bulb spiraled to four times the average wage. Livelihoods were won and lost on their trade.
Their colours, forms and even names – Darwin, Lily-flowered, Cottage, Breeder, Late Double, and Parrot – are all alluring.
And of course they give us invaluable mid-Spring shots of colour. Dot throughout a spring border or plant en masse. Underplanting is a good idea to hide dying foliage…forgt-me-nots and wallflowers are great suporting acts.
I tend to get mine from Broadleigh Bulbs… and these beauties are my favourites: