The Parrot King Tulip
Today we’ll be taking a break from the cleaning series because I didn’t get home until late from the family Easter celebration and didn’t have time to take photos & write the post. Also because a few of my parrot tulips are blooming. These ‘Parrot King’ tulips are a show stopper and they’re stealing the show by my back door, the OOPS ones that I accidentally left in the garage. I can’t help but stop and stare whenever I’m head in or out!
I planted these in pots specifically to be able to examine them closely. The detail in these flowers is so amazing and hard to capture with my camera. They’re stunning from bud to bloom. The variety of colors in each bud, the fringe on the petals, the way the colors change and they get deeper as the blooms age.
Normally, I’m not one for blooms with flourish like these. I don’t even really like orange and yellow flowers, but for some reason I’m enthralled by these beauties. They remind me of Spanish Flamenco dancers with all the ruffles and their bright colors. Definitely focal points wherever you plant them. I’ll never have a garden without parrot tulips from now on and I don’t think I’ll go without forcing some in a pot to admire by the back door each spring.
Do you have a plant/flower that you love that doesn’t fit in with your normal gardening tastes?
For more photos of this beauty head on over to my Flickr photostream.
Filed under Around the Garden | Comments (16)
Very pretty :) Tulips are just so lovely to have in the garden.
m.
to Maria's comment
Those are spectacular!
to daisy's comment
I adore parrot tulips. They are certainly one for the pots, and will have to be dug up every year here in the UK, they are not at all hardy.
to Gardening Maintenance Birmingham's comment
Those photos are so stunning. Thank you for brightening up a cold, wet Monday afternoon!
to Isabel @ Fennel and Fern's comment
I planted a couple of Asian lilies the year after we moved into our home. I had a spot that needed something in it, and they were marked down at the garden center since their blooms had dropped and they weren’t selling as quickly anymore. I didn’t think of myself as a lily person – I associate them with more formal gardens and think of them as fussy, while I tend to prefer cottage gardens and wildflowers. Well, the lilies don’t care what I think and they come up every year and are so striking and so beautiful and so exuberant that I love them despite thinking I wouldn’t.
Now I check at our garden and home centers each year around the right time and pick up a few more to add to the collection once they’ve gone on sale. Extra fun is that since I usually get them after they’ve dropped their flowers, I’m never 100% certain which variety I’m getting, so it’s a bit of a surprise what color they’ll be the first time they bloom!
to Trish's comment
…I’d have to say that they are richly rewarding you for saving ’em from the dark garage – gorgeous! :o)
…I haven’t come across a flower that I don’t like but I do have to say that I’ve noticed I’ve gotten too carried away with the color pink in landscaping these past few years around here. And I’m not even a pink kinda gal either in the garden, decor or fashion. Go figure.
…Thank you for sharing your beautiful tulips!
…Enjoy your day!
…Blessings :o)
to tj's comment
Gorgeous photos!! Wonder what camera you used and lenses. The colors are so pretty! I never planted tulips but It’s one of those flowers that everyone loves it. The colors are so vivid and pretty. Thanks for sharing.
to angela's comment
I actually just upgraded my camera. I used to have an old Canon EOS 30D that I got used from a friend. Now I use a Canon 5D Mark II. These images were taken with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L lens.
to Susy's comment
What a beauty! I love those mixtures of colors in the blooms.
to Lona's comment
Gorgeous photos…
I love Birds of Paradise and they definitely arent my normal style.. but I think they remind me of my homeland..
to KimH's comment
Amazing photos! Bravo!
to Throwback Road's comment
Tulips are my favorite and i have never seen one like this! Gorgeous!
to Allison's comment
Hi there,
I’m not an expert on flowers, I took a class on floral decoration though, so I just have an eye for beautiful flowers and Parrot King Tulip is one stunning flower. Nice pictures.
to Josh's comment
Love the pics, as always. But I especially love these tulips. I only have the gaudy-colored ones so it’s refreshing to see some more subdued colors.
to MrBrownThumb's comment
Thanks Mr Brown Thumb, I tend to go in the pink/purple directions so these are a huge departure from the norm at Chiot’s Run!
to Susy's comment
Wow….these are incredibly stunning. Might have to get some when i finally place my order for bulbs. Beautiful.
to Debbie Jamieson's comment