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The Parade of Tulips

April 23rd, 2012

I promised a parade of tulips when every single one had finally bloomed. Last week the last of the later tulips opened. Barring any extreme heat, the blooms will last for a couple more weeks. All-in-all, I should get over 2 months of beauty. There were a few glorious days when all the varieties I planted were blooming at the same time.

Just in case you’re wondering how I kept track of the tulips I planted, I cut the photos/names from the catalog and pasted them on a piece of paper grouping them by order of bloom. This gave me a handy chart to quickly be able to identify what was blooming. It also came in handy when making my order so I knew which tulips I was buying so I didn’t end up with all late flowering tulips.


‘Rai’ parrot tulip, a beautiful dark pink/purple and green parrot tulip. I only purchased 8 bulbs for this and they were planted in a pot by the back door. Parrot tulips are just as interesting in bud form as they are when in full bloom. This is the first time I’ve had parrot tulips in the garden and I must say, I’ll always have some from now on! (I won’t relist the Parrot King tulip, you can see this post if you’d like to see them).

All of the bulbs listed below were purchased from Van Engelen in lots of 50 or 100. I’ll include their description of the tulips after the name. The tulips will also be listed in the order in which they bloomed in the garden.

Blooming first was ‘Passionale’, which I’ve had in the garden for many years. Described as: huge, lilac-purple tulip has dark purple flames on the outside of its petals while the inside of the petals is beetroot-purple with a tawny-yellow base. Bulb size: 12cm/up. April/May. 16″


Along with ‘Passionale’ the ‘Rembrandt’s Favorite’ tulip bloomed as well. They make a perfect combo! This tulip is described as: a mutation out of Hans Anrud, this strong and sturdy bicolor is glistening snow-white with deep blueberry-purple flames. Bulb size: 12 cm/up. Late April. 22″


‘Pimpernel’ is a lovely lily flowering tulips, one of two varieties I planted. Rich purplish-red with green featherings. Bulb size: 12cm/up. May. 16″. HZ: 3-7.


‘China Pink’ One of the most popular of all Lily Flowering Tulips, this award-winner has lustrous, soft pink flowers with a white base. Bulb size: 12cm/up. May. 18″.

‘Cum Laude’ circa 1944, Cum Laude is dark campanula-violet with a white base. Bulb size: 12cm/up. May. 24″.


‘Virichic’ this jaunty beauty has an elegant, almost Lily-like form and exotic coloration. It opens dreamy pale rose with tawny yellow highlights and green flames and matures to a darker purplish-pink with green flames. Bulb size: 12 cm/up. May. 18”.


‘Greenland’ Also known as Groenland, this award-winner is a charming old rose color with soft green stripes from the flower’s base to its tips. Bulb size: 12cm/up. May. 20″.

‘Green Wave’ A terrific cut flower, this sport of Greenland is pastel mauve-pink with green flames and an exterior white base. Watch how wide it opens! Bulb size: 12cm/up. May. 20″


‘Elegant Lady’ Subtly changing colors as its blooms mature, this beauty has pale creamy-yellow flowers edged in soft violet-red. Bulb size: 12cm/up. May. 24″. HZ: 3-7.

‘Queen of the Night’ is a deep velvety-maroon, appearing as glistening black in the sunlight. Circa 1940, this award-winner is still the “blackest” tulip to date. Bulb size: 12cm/up. May. 24″. I have grown this variety of tulip for many years here at Chiot’s Run and it’s the one tulip that I find that doesn’t get eaten by various deer. The black color must make them bitter or something. There have been years when this is the only tulip to bloom in my garden.

I think my favorite combination from this year was ‘Queen of the Night’ and ‘Elegant Lady’. I planted these two varieties in a few clumps in the front foundation bed and I think they’re perfectly stunning together.

I also have a few other kinds of tulips that bloom throughout the garden that I planted a few years ago. I definitely gravitate towards the purple/pink/green range when it comes to flower colors. I’m not sure if I could pick a favorite, it might be ‘Queen of the Night’ or it might be ‘Green Wave’. I’m certainly happy I don’t have to choose!

Which of these do you like the best?

21 Comments to “The Parade of Tulips”
  1. Barbara on April 23, 2012 at 7:22 am

    Lisse, in the Netherlands, has nothing on you! How GORGEOUS!

    Reply to Barbara's comment

  2. Sherri on April 23, 2012 at 8:14 am

    Oh my goodness, those blooms look absolutely beautiful :) I’m quite sure I’d never get anything done with all the flowers around… I’d be forever stopping to gaze at the beautiful display. It makes all the work of planting worthwhile, doesn’t it? Well done!

    Reply to Sherri's comment

  3. Annie on April 23, 2012 at 8:20 am

    Your tulips are beautiful. Thank you for sharing them.

    Reply to Annie's comment

  4. Melissa on April 23, 2012 at 8:27 am

    Absolutely gorgeous! Your tulips are fantastic! All your hard work is definitely paying off!

    Reply to Melissa's comment

  5. Allison on April 23, 2012 at 8:50 am

    WOW – How absolutely gorgeous! Tulips are my favorite and those Queen of the Night ones are to-die for! I am so jealous; it is looking like mine might not even be making an apperance this year :/

    Reply to Allison's comment

  6. Mary White on April 23, 2012 at 9:23 am

    Thank you for sharing these gorgeous photos! Wow, absolutely beautiful!

    Reply to Mary White's comment

  7. Kiskin on April 23, 2012 at 10:06 am

    This is truly amazing! What a sight! Wonderful!
    How many bulbs have you planted there? You are not digging them out, are you? Or do you plan to keep adding bulbs each fall?

    Reply to Kiskin's comment

  8. amy on April 23, 2012 at 10:06 am

    Holy Cow! Those are Beautiful:)

    Reply to amy's comment

  9. Judy W on April 23, 2012 at 10:12 am

    Absolutely gorgeous! Do you not have deer?

    I’m afraid the deer would eat these at my house.

    Judy

    Reply to Judy W's comment

  10. Sincerely, Emily on April 23, 2012 at 10:31 am

    Oh that is a tough one. Purple is my top favorite color followed by green. So I would go for the Queen of the Night and the Cum Laude, but the China Pink is beautiful and so is the Greenwave. WOW! they are all wonderful!! Thanks for sharing them with us.

    Reply to Sincerely, Emily's comment

  11. Jennifer S. on April 23, 2012 at 10:46 am

    Green Wave is my favorite. Its gorgeous!

    Reply to Jennifer S.'s comment

  12. Maybelline on April 23, 2012 at 10:49 am

    Elegant Lady

    Reply to Maybelline's comment

  13. Lona on April 23, 2012 at 11:47 am

    Absolutely Gorgeous! What an amazing bed of color. I love them all.

    Reply to Lona's comment

  14. Darla on April 23, 2012 at 12:37 pm

    Beautiful collection and display. One of the negatives of living in the south is some of these beautiful spring flowers do not do well. I so enjoy seeing all these pretties via blogging.

    Reply to Darla's comment

  15. AGinPA on April 23, 2012 at 12:59 pm

    Wow, those are stunning and your pictures capture them beautifully. The China Pink caught my eye. I’ve had some big, coral/peach colored tulips in past years but this year only one or two flowered. I’ll have to dig them up and see what’s going on.

    Reply to AGinPA's comment

  16. Kit on April 23, 2012 at 1:13 pm

    Hi,
    Those are very lovely. Here in south east michigan The deer come into the yards right up to the side of the houe to eat the tulips. How come Ohio deer don’t eat them? It will be a sad day for you when they find them.
    Kit

    Reply to Kit's comment

    • Susy on April 23, 2012 at 4:49 pm

      They do eat them here sometimes. I have found that the purple tulips are less likely to be eaten by deer and if you plant them among daffodils the same is true. I’m thinking the purple ones must be bitter or something.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  17. daisy on April 23, 2012 at 1:43 pm

    Are you kidding me? No way I could pick any as a favorite! They are all too spectacular! I’ve never seen the lily-type though. What a gorgeous display, Susy!

    Reply to daisy's comment

  18. Jessica on April 23, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    These are so beautiful. I have got to plant tulips this fall. We have a few planted here before we moved in but they’re one of my favorite flowers, and I’ve been meaning to plant more. Love the shade of the ‘Cum Laude.’

    Reply to Jessica's comment

  19. The Garden Smallholder on April 28, 2012 at 7:22 am

    Stunning tulips and photos, I’m really enjoying your blog and garden.
    Karen

    Reply to The Garden Smallholder's comment

  20. Maria Dowey on July 18, 2013 at 2:57 am

    The Beauty of tulips is really awesome and I like to visit in the tulip garden to feel like heaven .

    Reply to Maria Dowey's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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