Tulips
In this new 30th Anniversary blog series for 2025, Editor Guy Willam Eves has curated a selection of articles from our Newsletter Archives, from the past 30 years! Next up, a post all about tulip painting by member Rui Jiang from 2024. Enjoy!
" According to an ancient Persian legend, the tulip was born of the blood and tears of a girl who had ventured into the desert in search of her lover. It thereafter became a symbol of love.’ –<Nature and Its Symbols> by The J. Paul Getty Museum.
The very first tulip bulbs I purchased were back in 2017, during a course at the Chelsea School of Botanical Art. It was in the meeting room of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society where I painted my first botanical painting, a tulip! It sounds dramatic, but I had never paid attention to the flower itself and the bulb in the spring before the course. Botanical art certainly led me into another world of nature, a world of wonder and curiosity! Gradually, I purchased different bulbs from the local garden centre or online in autumn, then planted them in November. Surprisingly, I ended up with 101 varieties in my garden over the past 5 years.
The tulip genus is scientifically known as Tulipa, and they are flowering plants that belong to the Liliaceae Family. Tulips are unsurpassed in the bulb world as a source of both subdued and brilliant colours from early to late spring. There are dwarf species that open their small flowers on 4-inch (10 cm) stalks in early March, and next to them, you can have 30-inch (75 cm) Rembrandt Tulips in full bloom in mid-May. The colour range is equally extensive, with nearly every shade from pure white to near black. The subject of Tulip color is fascinating - most varieties are single-coloured or simple blends, but there are ‘broken’ Tulips where second or third colours appear as complex streaks, splashes, or feathery lines. This effect is caused by a virus, and at one time, such bizarre varieties commanded unbelievably high prices, but they are no longer popular.
Most tulips are used either in formal bedding schemes or in containers, but there are other places for them in the garden. The tall varieties can be used as informal colourful clumps in mixed borders, and dwarf varieties are useful in the rockery. Choose your bulbs carefully and do not be in a hurry to plant them - November is early enough. Remove dead flower heads if it is practical. The problem with garden tulips is that they tend to deteriorate or disappear if not lifted every year, so the usual practice is to lift them when the foliage has turned yellow and then store them in a frost-free place until replanting time in November. Another problem is that Garden Tulips should not be planted in the same bed year after year.
