The flowers are hard to ignore. In a poem called "Tulips," Sylvia Plath described them as "excitable." She added, "Before they came the air was calm enough/ Coming and going, breath by breath, without any fuss./ Then the tulips filled it up like a loud noise."
The Dutch eventually came to terms with the flamboyant alien flower which had been both a blessing and a bane to them--and found a more enduring way to make a profit from it! Holland remains the main producer and exporter of tulips to this day. In fact, during World War II, many Dutch citizens survived by eating the bulbs.
The modern stiffly-upright varieties are said to be a far cry from their floppier forbears. Amy Lowell speaks of them "Marshalled like soldiers. . ./ Forward they come, with flaunting colors spread,/ With torches burning, stepping out in time/ To some quick unheard march. . ."
Today, there are at least 16 different classes of tulips, divided into three bloom periods: early, mid-season, and late. Unlike other more persistent spring flowers, most tulips will only flourish for a year or two. The exceptions to that rule are the species, Greiggi, Kaufmanniana, Fosteriana, and Darwin types, which can truly be called "perennial."
Although natives of Afghanistan sometimes eat tulipa montana for "strength," the flower never has achieved much of a medicinal reputation. But, then, it doesn't need one! Though now inexpensive enough to be purchased by us "peasants," the tulip's evanescent, glowing goblets of color will assure that it is cherished for generations to come.
Note: Semper Augustus image is courtesy of the U.S. Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center at http://www.bulb.com
Go To Page: 1 2
