Tulips on Tuesday

My tulips are finished blooming now, but I wanted to share a few photos with you. Most of the tulips I've planted over the years seem to have died out - previous clumps of 10 or 12 bulbs have only a few remaining stragglers here and there. Yet tulips my mother planted at least 30 years ago continue to bloom beautifully each year! They are mere feet away from mine (I now live right next door to where I grew up) so the weather, temps and conditions are virtually the same. The only difference is hers are directly in the ground, whereas mine are in contained beds, slightly raised - would that make a significant difference? WHY do some go on strongly year after year and others last only a few years then die out?? Like many other things these days, are they "just not making them like they used to?"

The new Canada 150 tulips I planted last fall did not disappoint, the blooms lasting almost three weeks!  I hope they will perform as well next year! The tulips shown here, which I still call "Mum's tulips" are a mixture of varieties, with a few parrot tulips  among others. They catch the light later in the day and I can't help but photograph them every year! Although the blooms last only a week or so, I get every bit as much enjoyment out of them as my mother did, and think of her every time I walk by them or see them from my studio window. I hope she can see them from heaven...

















Love that backlighting!

And lastly, because they surround this tulip bed, and because I love blue and believe every garden should have some blue in it, I can't leave out the sweet little forget-me-nots!   :)

Peace,
Linda

"A tulip doesn't strive to impress anyone. It doesn't struggle to be different than a rose. It doesn't  have to. It is different. And there's room in the garden for every flower." ~ Marianne Williamson