Time for Tulips

200 mm 1/500 sec f/5.6 ISO 140

The mid-April sun greeted the tulips this morning with gentle encouragement. The miniature daffodils have come and gone, and while a few of the larger daffodils are still thriving in their mostly shaded beds, many of them are bowing lower to the ground ready to fade away until next March coaxes them back into existence. The hyacinths are taking their leave with the daffodils; a little too much warmth for their liking. It's time for the tulips and their brief, bold, colorful explosion in the garden.

165 mm 1/200 sec f/5.3 ISO 200

200 mm 1/160 sec f/5.6 ISO 400

For such a popular, beloved flower the tulip doesn't stay around for long. A garden is lucky to display just a sampling of the 3,000 different varieties of tulips. If an early-spring afternoon gets a bit too hot, a tulip might bloom for only a few days. You would think that a flower that is in second place to the rose in popularity would have more longevity when it comes time to put on a show. Yes, in a perfect world that would be nice. My tulip philosophy is this: plant as many bulbs as you can. Scatter the reds with the purples, the yellows and the creamy whites. There is nothing more lovely than a sea of tulips. As beautiful and short-lived as they are in the garden, tulips make perfect cut flowers. Why not have enough to fill multiple vases with them?

200 mm 1/400 sec f/5.6 ISO 100

200 mm 1/80 sec f/5.6 ISO 1100

150 mm 1/200 sec f/5.0 ISO 400

While people today associate tulips with Holland, what many don't realize is that tulips most likely originated in Central Asia. The word tulip is a corruption of the Turkish word tullbend, which means gauze or muslin. Tullbend is derived from the Persian word delbend which means turban. There are two theories as to why the word tulip is connected to the word turban. It could be because the colorful tulip resembles the shape of the flamboyant turbans worn in the Ottoman court. Another possibility is that the Turks often wore tulips in their turbans, and translators became confused with the words for the flower and for turbans. It wasn't until the 1560's that tulips traveled from Central Asia to the Netherlands where they quickly became hugely popular. The tulip was like no other flower. Their perfect symmetry, their single-hued colors and the multi-colored varieties lined with white streaks against the vibrant hues were captivating. The multi-color varieties were highly sought after, and that unique appearance is now known to have been caused by the tulip breaking virus. This virus infected the bulb and caused the flower to "break" the petals single color into two or more colors. Once upon a time tulips were the most expensive flower in the world; in Amsterdam in the 1600's, tulips were worth more than most people's homes. The average salary would not have allowed someone to purchase tulips; they cost ten times more than a person of average means could afford.

200 mm 1/400 sec f/5.6 ISO 100

It's easy to see why tulips are as coveted on Valentine's Day as roses are. Red tulips are all about passion and romance. Toss a handful of red tulips into a Valentine's Day bouquet of white roses and baby's breath, and you've got a simple, elegant representation of true love. Red tulips are also the flower of choice for the 11th wedding anniversary. Yellow tulips are hopeful and convey cheerful thoughts. Yellow is the color of friendship, and what could be nicer in the spring than a bouquet of yellow tulips given to a friend? Purple signifies royalty. A purple bouquet of tulips makes a loved one queen for a day. Pink tulips are just plain happy. They are for joy and confidence. And if you've been foolish enough to break a loved one's heart, send white tulips as an apology and hope that your symbolic gesture of remorse will help mend those hurt feelings.

150 mm 1/200 sec f/5.0 ISO 140

135 mm 1/160 sec f/4.8 ISO 280

There are two flowers in this world that first catch a child's eye: the daisy and the tulip. Those are the flowers a child will add to her kindergarten drawing of the family home. The flowers sit in front of the carefully drawn house with the door in the middle, the two windows on either side, and the steeply-pitched roof complete with a smoking chimney. Stick figures of mom and dad and a sibling or two standing to the side of the house will be flanked by daisies and tulips. Their beautiful simplicity give that lovely finishing touch to any child's earliest artistic endeavors. Draw a bright yellow, smiling sun above the house and the family and, along with the yellow-centered daisies and pink and purple and red tulips, a child has the first, most perfect Mother's Day card that a mother will ever receive.