Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Bulbs of Spring

A few years ago, with the help of my mom and sister, I planted some spring-blooming bulbs.  Every year since I have enjoyed a beautiful bevy of blossoms throughout spring.  First the crocuses come up, poking through the last of the snow and reassuring us that winter is almost done. Next the hyacinth come up, blooming forth their stalks of fragrant trumpets announcing the arrival of spring.  After that come the daffodils, my personal favorite, blazing forth like little bits of sunshine poking up from the ground.

Finally, now in late spring, come the tulips.  They are a popular flower in our area, in part because we have a large Dutch population, so you find them planted all over the place.  Most are the smooth-edged variety, some with a variegated color and some solid, but so rarely do you find one like this.






This is the type I planted in our front flower beds, and every spring I am treated to a delightful boom of red fringe playing out the last of spring.  They are fascinating, these fringed tulips, seeming almost wild of form, delicate teeth springing every which way.  I love them both because they are beautiful and because they signal that summer is nearly here.

It is nearly here, right?

Enjoy the end of spring and all the blossoms that come with it.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Just gorgeous. We are busy planting spring flowering bulbs at the moment. I wonder if I can source tulips like that, they are magical.