Tower and Town, April 2024 (view the full edition)Tulips
The Mogul emperors loved their gardens and tulips can be seen in stone carving on the Taj Mahal. They were popular across Asia Minor, arriving in Europe in the 16th century when the Dutch trading of tulips was established. The flowering season for tulips ranges from late March to mid-May depending on the variety. There is a wide range of tulip cultivar shapes, including lily, fringed, parrot and peony and height varies too. I garden on a windy site so opt for shorter stems and at present am especially fond of the peony type with their multi sepaled heads which come in both late and early varieties. Another favourite is Princess Irene, a bright orange with burgundy/purple stripe. Tulips prefer to grow in full sun whether in a pot or in the ground. They enjoy a neutral or alkaline soil, good drainage, but also some rich organic matter too and are best planted in October/November time. If you want to naturalise pot grown tulips, deadhead after flowering and continue to feed with high potassium (tomato) feed to help build up the bulb. Once the leaves start to wither and brown, remove and dry off the bulbs and store in a dark airy place. Keep an eye on them over the summer and discard any showing signs of mould. Come the autumn plant deeper outside than you would in a pot and wait and see what happens. Some varieties work better than others, but I'm all for recycling. For my pots I tend to splash out and buy new bulbs as it presents an opportunity to try something different. If you are visiting gardens this spring, take photos of shape and colour combinations you like. That way you have an aide memoire when it comes to deciding upon new bulbs in the autumn. Miranda Gilmour |
My childhood memory is of crimson flowers with dark furry stamens, usually in serried rows in public gardens and I dismissed them as rather dull. In later years I came to love tulips as providing a wonderful blast of spring colour in such a variety of colours and form.