Tulips in the Cottage Garden

Jolly Dutch flowers, rejoicing in showers,
Drink! ere the pageant of Spring passes by!

arthur guiterman

Tulips in the Cottage Garden. April 15, 2025.

Goblets of pink, yellow, and cream filled with the wine of sunshine stand perfectly still on their tall green stems, bringing an air of classical elegance to the garden. Tulips are among our most traditional of flowers, as can be seen from the waves of tulips decorating gardens all around. When tulips show up, we know that Spring has arrived. They sway in our bluff winds, resuming their upright posture in between, not a petal out of place. Theirs is a no-nonsense atmosphere amongst their tidy clusters and rows- I almost feel I need to tiptoe by them. Whisper only. And yet these serious flowers are so beautiful, and yet they come with a dramatic history.

A Most Popular Flower

The Tulip Mania of the Dutch Golden Age was a real event several centuries ago. In the newborn era of botany, enthusiastic botanists of the 17th century were fascinated by multicolored tulips, and many attempted to recreate their own colorful tulips. Of course, this created a demand for tulips to experiment with, to say nothing of tulips’ current popularity in gardens. That demand grew dramatically with people paying a great deal for bulbs during this period. One man was said to have paid with 12 acres of land for a single bulb. But this lucrative economic bubble couldn’t last forever and burst after 3 years. All was not lost, though, and the Netherlands remains the primary producer of bulbs to this day. On a side note, it also turns out that multicolored tulips were a product of a disease that caused these color variations.

The tulip does not look like the typical cottage garden flower, and yet it is. Tulips do not run riotous like honeysuckle or rambling roses, although they can naturalize and spread. They aren’t as frilly as the snapdragons, carnations, and stock. They have no friendly faces, such as the daisy. Tulips stand alone and self-assured, knowing their unique beauty is unlike any other, and they continue to be highly sought after centuries later. They come in thousands of varieties and shapes, continuing to remain prominent in garden culture around the world. They are even edible. The bulbs were eaten in the Netherlands in the latter part of WW 2 when a particularly harsh winter in 1944-45 left many starving. Incidentally, tulip bulbs have a taste similar to onions and can be used in place of them.

Growing Tulips in the Cottage Garden

Appearing every Spring around Easter, tulips are naturally associated with our Lord’s Resurrection. Their legacy is one of rebirth after winter’s death, just as the Lord returned from death in the grave to give us the gift of salvation. I look at tulips as a steady presence of hope that brings its own sense of peace to the garden. This year, I planted enough bulbs to create a large display in the garden and have a generous bouquet of tulips for the Easter table.

Tulips are easy to grow and a good choice for beginners. They require full sun; however, bulbs should be planted in a sheltered, well-drained area to avoid fungal and disease problems. Make sure to dig the bulbs down deep, about 6-8 inches, with the pointy end up later in Autumn, but before it freezes. I have learned from experience how much squirrels love to munch on tulip bulbs, so be forewarned and have critter netting and red-hot cayenne pepper ready to keep the bulbs safe over the winter. If you live in a dry area, you will need to water the bulbs until freezing temperatures set in. Don’t cut back the tulips until the leaves turn yellow and die. This allows the bulb to build its energy supply and potentially naturalize.

Some of my favorite tulips are ones that boast peony-like blooms and are stunning in the garden, including the creamy yellow Avant Garde, Mount Tacoma, Double Northcap, Dreamer, and Angelique. Angelique can have several heads on one stem, making them especially lovely! These are all gorgeous cut flowers and are beautiful for the garden and the home! I order bulbs from several online retailers and don’t have a favorite yet, but I haven’t received any defective bulbs either. Tulips are among the easiest bulbs, in my opinion, and are worth considering for the beginning gardener.

Have a beautiful day!

Sources used:

• https://amsterdamtulipmuseum.com
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania
• https://www.almanac.com/plant/tulips
• https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-tulips/

tulips in the cottage garden