Tag: tulips
More Early Tulips
In Chicago and other Northern lands, people tend to think of tulips as flowers of May. However, there are quite a few tulips that bloom in April. In my garden, the three earliest tulips are ‘Early Harvest’, T. praestans, and T. turkestanica. Of these, only T. turkestanica is still in flower. However two new tulips …
Daffodils Are Delightful, But Tulips Are Better
Let me stipulate that everything is beautiful in its own way, you can’t say one flower is better than another, and so on. However. Really you can say that some flowers are better than others, and when it comes to spring bulbs, Tulips are better than Daffodils. This isn’t just an opinion, it is backed …
Tulip Season Begins
Today I am a happy man, for the tulip season has begun in earnest in our garden. What, you say, tulip season in the middle of April? Yes, indeed. First, Tulipa kaufmanniana ‘Early Harvest’ has come into its own, blooming in both beds and containers. The no neck phase was just a period of awkward …
The No-Neck Tulip and Other Spring Bulb News
The spring bulbs in our garden are starting to transition from the first to the second act of their annual performance. In my garden, the first act is about just the Snowdrops and Crocuses. The Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis and G. elwesii) are just past their peak. Some early Crocus (various species) are fading, but are …
More Spring Cleanup and Foliage Day
More good progress on garden cleanup this weekend. Mostly on Saturday, which was cool and sunny. Sunday was cold (about 32 degrees F, or 0 C), so I didn’t put in as many hours outside. My biggest single cleanup accomplishment was digging out the containers planted with tulips. They had been buried in the cutting/herb/vegetable …
Again with the Tulips in Containers
Monday was a holiday, and I spent it planting 160 Tulips into 11 containers. Plus a 12th container I planted with ‘City of Haarlem’ Hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis). There seems to be a fair amount of interest in planting Tulips in containers, so I’m doing this post even though I did a very similar one last …
The Best Tulips in the Universe
Actually, in my mind the best tulips in the universe are whatever tulips I have blooming at that particular moment. One of the advantages of growing tulips in containers is you can try different varieties every year. But I will say that this seemed to be a particularly good year for tulips – maybe because …
Chicago’s Lurie Garden in May
Earlier this week Judy was walking to the Millenium Park garage in downtown Chicago but, prompted by the mild weather and clear light, took a detour into the Lurie Garden. The views were sublime – full of blues, purples, and whites – and Judy took some photos with her cell phone. They came out pretty …
Book Review: The Tulip, by Anna Pavord
The Tulip is a fascinating history of the relationship between people and this enchanting spring flower. In very different places and times, many have been obsessed with tulips, due in part to their enormous and irrepressible bundle of genetic variability, capable of all sorts of surprising tricks with color, shape, and habit. And people have …
Crabapple Blossoms at the Chicago Botanic Garden
It’s not always easy to get to the Chicago Botanic Garden for the peak of the crabapple blossoms. It only lasts a few days, and the dates can be unpredictable. The weather is not always cooperative, and a badly timed rainstorm can put a quick end to all the fragile beauty. It’s worth making the …
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