Tulip time at Dalston Curve Garden
We are obsessed with tulips - we just can’t get enough of this gorgeous flower, in all its shapes and sizes and glorious colours. Last Spring we were broken-hearted that, because of the lockdown, visitors couldn’t see our annual display, although we did cut them to give away in bouquets to people who needed cheering up. Last Autumn we planted even more bulbs than usual, with even more varieties, for flowering this Spring. And what a display our tulips have given visitors this year! It’s been so hard to choose the 10 photos that our blog limits us to, so look out for our follow-up blog, where we’ll focus on late-flowering varieties.
You don’t have to have a garden to plant tulips - all of ours at the Curve Garden are planted in containers, including recycled tins. We’re sharing some of our favourites, the combinations we love, and notes on how we plant them here, so you can make a note for ordering later in the year. In the Autumn we’ll be sharing lots of advice and tips on planting tulips and other Spring-flowering bulbs.
Tulips are divided into 15 ‘groups’ based on flowering times, shape and other characteristics. You don’t need to know anything about these groups, but we’re mentioning them here as it can help you work out what you like, for when you are faced with thousands of different varieties to choose from in online plant catalogues.
Tulipa ‘Abu Hassan’, the first tulip pictured here, is one of our all-time favourites. It’s goblet-shaped, with deep mahogany-red petals, edged in gold and is stunning when the sun shines through. We love its glamour, and hint of mystery. ‘Abu Hassan’ is categorised in the mid-season ‘Triumph’ group of tulips. This year they started opening up here in mid-April and have just finished flowering.
We’ve grown Tulipa ‘Flaming Purissima’, from the ‘Fosteriana’ group, for several years now. It has beautiful large pale creamy-pink flowers with petals ‘flamed’ with red. We plant them in large pots packed closely together, as they look best en masse, and so that you can notice the variety in their colouring, ranging from creamy pink to red. They look like they’ve been hand-painted in watercolour and remind us of ‘Raspberry Ripple’ ice-cream.
Tulipa ‘Spring Green’, in the Viridiflora group, has a tall, strong stem, and elegant creamy white flowers, with a ‘flame’ of green. It acts as a perfect ‘foil’ to other tulips, especially dark ones like ‘Queen of the Night’ or ‘Abu Hassan’, as pictured here.
We don’t plant tulips directly into the ground at the Curve Garden, but rather in pots and containers so that as one variety finishes its flowering period, we can remove it and replace with pots of later-flowering tulips to take their place in the spotlight. This rotation of pots can go on for up to six to eight weeks, from late March to mid-May, depending on the weather. We then transplant this years ‘spent’ tulips into large plastic pots which are left to go dormant at the back of the garden. In the Autumn we plant new bulbs into the clay pots to ensure a magnificent display next Spring.
The delicate little Lady Tulip, Tulipa clusiana ‘Cynthia’, was one of the first wild tulips to be introduced into Europe from Central Asia. We love their ‘Rhubarb and Custard’ colouring and plant them in tins and planters, where they look lovely alongside the blues of Muscari and Nepeta.
Tulipa Bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’ is one of the earliest tulips to flower at the Curve Garden, normally in March. Its leaves are bright green and a little waxy in texture and each stem bears a single bell-shaped lilac flower. It was first discovered in the mountains of Crete in the late 1800s. We plant them in tins or small clay pots and place them on tables, so they can be enjoyed from above.
We planted Tulipa ‘Concerto’ for the first time into one of our beautiful large ceramic pots. It has creamy-white petals, and when they open wide to the sun, they reveal a yellow base with a black centre.
With tulips the focus is all on the flower, but with Tulipa ‘Red Riding Hood’ you do get the advance bonus of blue-green leaves, beautifully streaked with deep red. This lovely little red tulip, just 30cm tall, is in the Greigii group of tulips.
Tulipa ‘Ballerina’ is up there in our top three tulips. It’s in the ‘Lily-flowered’ group of tulips, with elegant, elongated, pointed petals. These are deep orange, getting paler at the edges, and bear a red ‘stripe’. Its flowers are held aloft on a very tall stem and when the evening sun in the Garden lights it up, they are on fire! And if all of these qualities weren’t enough, unlike most tulips, Ballerina even has a scent. An all-round winner.
Many thanks to gardener Dean Young and our team of volunteers who could not have worked harder last Autumn planting all of our pots of tulips and this Spring arranging them all over so many months.
We are already getting excited about our plans for next year’s display and our 'Festival of Tulips’, which we had originally planned to celebrate the Curve Garden’s 10th birthday year in 2020. We want to plant even more tulips for next Spring, in the Curve Garden and in other parts of Dalston and to present an exhibition celebrating the rich and fascinating history of the Tulip. If you would like to ensure we can fill the Garden with tulips and colourful bulbs for the Festival, please donate to our crowdfunder, so we can start ordering the bulbs soon, before our favourites run out! https://uk.gofundme.com/f/save-dalston-curve-garden
Many thanks to Sandra Keating, Alex Bogdan and Erola Arcalis for their beautiful Tulip photos. All photos are copyright of Dalston Eastern Curve Garden.
