I think Monty Don recommended this variety on Gardeners’ World, and was glad I could find some online at Brent & Becky’s Bulbs. I planted them last fall. The squirrels got a few, but most of them came up this spring and are putting on a glorious show. The flowers of this tulip begin an unpromising pale yellow. After a few days, however, they turn to a luminous white. It’s not often that a flower’s color improves as it ages on the plant, so it’s an interesting transition. I definitely want to plant more of these bulbs, especially as not much else is blooming in my mid-spring garden. I think I need to plant more early to mid-spring-blooming plants in general, as I find spring a preferable time to enjoy the outdoors to summer with all its heat, humidity, and mosquitoes. And climate change is going to make summers increasingly unbearable.
One of the interesting things I’ve learned about tulips is that around the country, many gardeners treat them as annuals as tulips need particular conditions to thrive. But tulips here come back better every year as we have the climate they prefer: cold winters and hot, dry summers. I’ve always considered Long Island to be a borderline climate. We’re not a true zone 7, and I’ve not had luck growing marginally hardy and Mediterranean plants, but our wet, unpredictably cold winters and humid summers also make it difficult to grow roses, alpines, and xeriscapic plants. So it’s nice to know that at least we have tulips.