An extra day in February this year gives us an extra Monday in which to join with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden where she challenges and inspires us to find material from our own gardens to cut and bring into our homes to enjoy.
Amazingly (to me) I’ve had vases of tulips in the house all this month as the chilled and then forced tulips from the greenhouse have come into flower. I began the month with the beautiful white Exotic Emperor and I’m finishing with another stunning white double Mount Tacoma.
The RHS site describes this as an old variety but well worth its continuing popularity. Slightly scented and double the bud is lightly flushed pink but the flower opens to a rich creamy white. Julie at Peonies and Posies used it to great advantage for wedding flowers last year and I was lucky enough to see it growing in her garden just afterwards; it was actually seeing Julie’s that inspired me to grow it this year.
Mount Tacoma Tulip
I picked these for the vase last Thursday when they were still tight buds.
Mount Tacoma Tulip
Mount Tacoma Tulip
Mount Tacoma Tulip
In a vase on Monday
I don’t know why but the only varieties of tulips that have all flowered at once have been the two white varieties. The others (so far) have flowered more sporadically.
For such a beautiful tulip it isn’t expensive (maybe because it is an old variety; from Peter Nyssen 50 good sized bulbs cost £11.50. I noticed when I picked these yesterday that the bulb was already producing an off shoot with bulblet with its own leaf; I have replanted these into the garden hoping there is enough foliage for the bulb to continue to grow and flower next year, time will tell.
I’ll show you how much the Ballerina tulips grew in their vase tomorrow.
Thanks to Cathy for hosting, do visit to see what wonderful props she has found for today’s vase
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Molto belli anche da sbocciati con il loro cuore giallo!
Questo tulipano doppia è molto elegante e bello; sia in giardino sia in vaso.
These are beautiful. I like the looser form of your Lake Tacoma and pure, fresh color. Your photographs show them off well too.
There was some bright light this morning when I took most of the photographs although it is actually a horrible day; very windy with torrential showers and then some sun sometimes at the same time as the rain, very odd.
Aren’t double tulips especially gorgeous?! These are lovely – and at that price even if they don’t come up another year it’s worth the expenditure. I wonder if there is a scientific reason behind the white ones all flowering at the same time? So looking forward to my tulips… 🙂 Thanks for sharing
Yes, I’m prepared to budget for some tulips ‘just for cut flowers, just once’; it is why I want to experiment more to understand how to have a continuation of flowers rather than all at once, I have a lot of vases of tulips in the house this week!
When I first looked, I did not realize those were tulips because they were double. Very pretty!
There are lots of double tulips SQ some are called peony flowered, which I think describes them very well.
Very pretty, I have not lived anywhere cold enough for tulips.
Can you buy them pre-chilled? I know they would only flower for one season but I think they are worth it. Even in the UK they are often treated as an annual, not because of the lack of cold but because the summer is too wet; tulips need to be dry during summer.
My neighbor grows Hyacinths every year with prechilled bulbs and in pots. Next year! I love those crass Parrot Tulips and they would look great with my tropical plants, I think.
Yes, the Parrots would look great with your stunning tropical plants. There are some great colours. You can chill them yourself by putting the bulbs in the fridge for 8 – 12 weeks, in your climate they would probably flower about a month after you potted or planted them in the garden.
I keep containers around my doorways, I think this would be the place for the Parrots.
They’re beautiful, Christina. Maybe I will have to try tulips again next year…
You have so many other beautiful flowers Kris but I do find tulips very special.
Christina I have to say these may be a favorite of mine now! The way they flop and open makes them so charming….a stunning vase and lucky you to have tulips all month!
The tulips have given me immeasurable pleasure Donna.
Yes I love the unexpected form of those tulips. How lovely to have a houseful-mine are poking through the soil in six pots outside.
I’m so glad I decided to buy extra tulips to chill and plant in the cold greenhouse this year, my ‘old’ tulips in the ground are at about the same stage a yours so I should have a wonderfully long season to enjoy. I won’t pick the garden ones unless they are damaged by wind or rain so that makes these early ones extra special.
Simply beautiful, Christina!
Thanks you Anca.
This is such a lovely variety of tulip and I am so pleased to read that you were inspired to try it after seeing it in my garden! I have not planted any new ones this year so it will be interesting to see how well they reflowed – although I will have to wait until April. In the meantime I will enjoy yours!
I’m sure with your lovely large greenhouse that you could chill and then force lots of tulips for next year. I’m going to experiment with chilling times and time to flowering more scientifically next year; maybe you could too and we could share our results.
That sounds like a very good plan – if you let me know what you are ordering in the summer and when and for how long you are chilling I will try and copy your timings so that we can compare our flowering times.
That would be brilliant Julie. I’ll let you know as soon as I decide which tulips to try. I’ll order early and ask them to send them ASAP so I can chill them and plant as early as possible.
The colour and shape of these tulips are lovely. I planted extra tulips at the allotment last year and now they are all showing I really should weed them and also investigate the Peter Nyseen catalogue for next year’s tulips.
i can really recommend Peter Nyssen’s tulips. Don’t be put off my the price for 10; the price drops significantly if you buy 50 of any one type. I’m going to work on the basis of 25 in the garden and 25 in pots to cut.
Your tulips are so gorgeous and romantic, Christina, I can see how they would look fabulous for a wedding.
Lake Tacoma is a lovely tulip and one I will certainly grow again.
Another beautiful tulip beautifully arranged! Thank you for this early glimpse of spring!
I need to extend my spring as I dread the heat of summer.
I really like the way you have them arranged in that straight-sided vase with the pebbles!
I think straight sided vases suit tulips; it emphasises the form or their flowers.
They are lovely – after seeing your paler coloured tulips this year you have convinced me to plant some too. (Most of mine are shades of pink, red or yellow).
These white tulips are lovely – my tulips in the ground in soggy manchester are nowhere near flowering (my a tête-à-tête are flowering – and were in my vase this week)… I think I’ll have to buy some older varieties as I think they might fair better 🙂 have a lovely week. Love bec xx
Hi Bec, tulips will never be happy in soil that is wet in summer. You could try improving the soil with grit or plant in pots.
Ah thank you 🙂 I’ll add some grit 🙂
Beautiful tulips! I can’t grow Peonies so maybe these are an answer. I have always loved tulips with dark centres but these are really different and lovely.
I would definitely recommend Lake Tacoma.
Hola Christina: sus tulipanes lago Tacoma son divinos. Los plantaré en Octubre. Saludos Margarita (margarita 141)
October is too early to plant tulips here; they would start growing before they had their winter chill and so wouldn’t flower well.
Love the way you have captured the light with those beautiful white tulips.
Thank you Noelle, it is always difficult to capture the light when it is so magical, I was pleased with these images.
Very pretty, and the scent is a bonus, even if it is slight.
A most fabulous frothy tulip Christina and the first I ever grew along with Angelique and Spring Green. The glass vase complete with stones sets the tulips off so well. I think that you have got geographical features in a slight muddle as the tulip is ‘Mount Tacoma’ 🙂
Oops!
Thank you so much for telling me I got the name wrong; I don’t know how that happened; I’ve corrected the post but the link to the title obviously will show my error for eternity! I’ve grown ‘Spring Green’ and I love it but it has never done all that well for me so I’m pleased to have found ‘Exotic Emperor’.
Sold. You have a new follower!
Thank you