If the only thing that got you through the winter was the thought of a casual stroll down rows of thousands of tulips, you were probably left sorely disappointed.
The pandemic devastated tourism in the Netherlands, and people flaunting social distancing rules even caused whole fields to be cut down. While it’s unclear whether tulip tourism will reopen next year, there is a solution in the meantime: grow your own!
Whether you have a green or a brown thumb, tulips are seriously easy to grow. Once you have the bulbs, it’s a simple matter of choosing a sunny spot, digging some holes, mixing some soil and fertilizer, and then watching them sprout into stunning flowers for your garden. Leave them in the soil, pick them for yourself, or give them as gifts to subtly show off your amazing gardening skills. Don’t forget to practice saying: “These old things? They’re just a little something I grew in my garden.” and add in a hair flick for good measure.
What kind of tulips can I get?
Close your eyes and think of all the colours in the world. Then, multiply that by 428. Alright, alright, maybe not that many — but a lot. Tulip colours go far beyond the simple red, yellow, and white varieties. In fact, the Royal Horticultural Association of Holland has recognized over 3,000 different cultivated tulip varieties — that’s a lot of choice!
So take your paintbrush (garden shovel) and start splashing paint (planting tulips) to decorate your garden in all the colours you can dream of. Your guests may even believe they’ve stepped foot directly into a rainbow.
And the shapes? Whew, the shapes! You can choose from Darwin Hybrid Tulips, Triumph Tulips, Double Tulips, Fringed Tulips, Fosteriana Tulips, Greigii Tulips, Kaufmanniana Tulips, Lily-Flowered Tulips, Parrot Tulips, Single Early Tulips, Single Late Tulips, French Single Late Tulips, Viridiflora Tulips, and Species Tulips *breathes heavily and mops sweat off forehead*. To summarise, there’s a lot of colours and a lot of types of tulips.
https://www.pexels.com/nl-nl/foto/blijdschap-bloeiend-bloemen-bloesem-413735/
When can I plant my tulip bulbs?
If you think that tulip bulbs are seasonal, you’re right — but what you may not know, is that there are tulips for all types of seasons! So, while you can plant Jumbo Cherry Tulips in the early to mid-spring, by the time summer rolls around you should start thinking about Ice-Cream Tulips instead. Cherry, ice-cream . . . is anyone else getting hungry? No? Okay, let’s continue.
Your geographical location will also heavily affect what bulbs you should plant, and when. Before starting off with your tulip journey, check your region to see what tulip bulbs will grow best. If you’re in the US, you can check this handy map — just put in your postcode, and you’ll be shown what flowers suit your zone. Which brings us to…
Help! I’m in the US, where can I get real Dutch tulips?
You know what kind of tulips you can plant — but you want the real authentic Dutch tulips, you’ll need to get them from the Netherlands. But, hold off on buying a plane ticket there’s a family farm in Holland who have an outlet in Pennsylvania! Dutch Grown send their top-quality, 100% Dutch bulbs direct to the US, so you can fulfil your deepest tulip dreams ❤️ 🌷.
This is especially great if you want both standard tulips, and some of the more special and exotic varieties: think Tulip Rainbow Parrot, Tulip Miami Sunset, Tulip Vincent van Gogh, and Tulip Cabanna Parrot. And, if you’re in the Netherlands you can get them there too 😉.
Do you have tulips in your garden, or are you lusting after them? Tell us in the comments below!
Feature Image: Jill Wellington/Pexels