Put on a Spring show with tulips Put on a Spring show with tulips

Of all spring-flowering bulbs, tulips provide the biggest, brightest display from both sides of your windows, and this is the time to plant them. You can’t go wrong with a handful or three of the familiar scarlet or yellow tulip bulbs, but why not get creative with more unusual, decorative varieties, and make your balcony or courtyard look truly spectacular next spring?

PARROT FASHION

The true celebrities of the tulip world are the flamboyant parrots, their fringed and feathered, curling petals reminiscent of the tropical birds’ vibrant plumage. The blooms are the largest – and the showiest. Just one or two containers of these joyful flowers are enough to transform a display of evergreens, as well as guaranteed to raise a smile. They bloom late in the season, and prefer a sunny spot, as you would expect from exotics. Parrot tulips tend to be one-season prima donnas, but given the performance they provide, are worth growing.

A few of the head-turners: Estella Rijnveld, her outsize, red-flamed white blooms streaked with green; luscious peaches-and-cream Apricot Parrot; Rasta Parrot, a fiery blend of oranges and red streaked with gold; Silver Parrot, with huge sugar pink petals brushed with silver and, for added glamour, variegated foliage edged with ivory.

DOUBLY DELICIOUS 

Why settle for a six-petalled tulip when you can have layer upon layer of petals so that the full flower looks for all the world like a peony? Doubles hold their flowers longer than singles, making them great value for providing high jinks to that awkward transitional time between mid spring and early summer. Some doubles are established in their own right, such as Carnaval de Nice, with raspberry ripple crimson-on-white streaks, and snow-white Mount Tacoma, resembling a dancer’s frilly petticoats. New and noteworthy: frivolous Pink Star, which has a two-tone colour combo of rose pink tinged with copper apricot. Tulip Slawa, aka Muvota, also offers double colour: carmine brushstrokes on marmalade.

Many others are multi-petalled versions of popular single tulips, such as Orange Princess, bred from carmine-streaked orange Prinses Irene, while Negrita, a beetroot-streaked purple tulip in the familiar goblet shape, has recently become available as a fuller-flowered peony: all hail the glorious Negrita Double. Black Hero, in a sumptuous shade of glossy maroon-black, is the doubly dramatic version of Tulip Queen of the Night. These last three multi-petalled tulips make a dazzling combo, either in a double layer in one large container or in separate pots, pulled together.

Slawa aka Muvota with Queen of the Night
Estella Rijnveld

BOTANICAL BEAUTIES

The shorter-stemmed, exquisitely marked botanical tulips – all about 25cms tall – are the ones to savour at close quarters, for tabletop or windowbox. These are the tulips that have been developed from the species that grow wild in the mountains of Europe, so that despite their delicate looks they are strong and sturdy, and, with those shorter stems, are less likely to be buffeted about in strong winds. And the really good news about these little beauties is that they reliably bloom year after year. Three of the best: Lilac Wonder, with shell pink flowers splashed at their centre with eggyolk yellow; Persian Pearl, her pointy petals of rich cerise backed with silvery green; Red Riding Hood, which has large, luminous flowers and equally eye-catching grey-green foliage mottled with carmine. And if you want more blooms for your buck, cram your windowboxes with bulbs of award-winning scarlet Fusilier, which provides multiple blooms per stem, year in, year out.

CONSIDER THE LILY

If you prefer crisp, clean lines to ruffles, and favour chic over showy, the lily-flowered group of tulips, blooming from mid to late spring, are for you. Held on long, graceful stems, the flowers are fluted, with long, pointed petals that curve elegantly outwards at their tips. Show their sophisticated good looks to the max by mixing them with classic goblet tulips as a foil. You could, for example, team the popular lily-flower Ballerina, which has vibrant orange blooms, with sultry carmine tulip Renaldo, or, for Chanel-style chic, contrast pure white lily-flowered WhiteTriumphator with near-black Queen of the Night. Darkly delicious lily tulip Purple Dream looks striking partnered with a soft peach goblet tulip such as Shogun.

Purple Dream with Shogun
Lilac Wonder

TULIP WISDOM

* The bigger the bulb, the bigger the bloom, so it pays to invest in the best, especially as the familiar tall hybrid tulips tend to get smaller year on year.

* Plant tulip bulbs later than other spring-flowering bulbs: from November through to Christmas.

* Use large pots with good drainage, planting bulbs 8cms deep, pointy sides up and about 5cms apart, in multipurpose compost.

* Top pots with grit for a clean finish and, if squirrels are a problem, put over the pot the overturned half of a hanging basket or crumpled chicken wire.

* After flowering, remove the faded stems. Many bulbs will produce flowers the following year or two, but they’ll be smaller, so for the best display, plant fresh every year. The exception are the botanicals.

FOR THE BEST BULBS VISIT

sarahraven.com

farmergracy.co.uk

peternyssen.com

 

Photography by GAP Photos