Tulip
Name: From the Turkish for turban,
after its rounded form. Botanical name Tulipa.
Colours: Everything
except blue and true black.
Availability: November to May
(January to April for British tulips)
Origin: Middle East
Care Tips:
Tulips continue to grow in water and will curve towards the
light. Make allowances for this when putting
them in a vase
or wrap the stems tightly in newspaper and stand them
in water directly beneath a light for a few hours.
Tulips have a vase
life of just over a week, and buy flowers in bud but
with
colour showing.
Facts: Tulips are the third-biggest
selling flower in Holland and are also very popular in the
UK where
many
are also grown.
The painter David Hockney displays them in his studio
in Los Angeles and so they appear in many of his
autobiographical paintings and for a long time
were seen as his trademark.
Language of Flowers: In the Victorian
language of flowers red tulips are a declaration of love,
making them ideal
gifts for
Valentine's Day.
History: In the middle ages tulipmania
saw bulbs change hands for the equivalent of £4million
pounds a bulb!
