I recently started reflecting on where plants in our garden are originally from, because people often ask me the same question about myself. It occurred to me that so many of our flowers, fruits, veggies and herbs are from other countries. I thought it might be interesting to take a tour of the world from the comfort of our home in New Zealand and explore some of them. I like to keep my blogs brief and easy to read, so it makes sense to cover this topic in a series of posts. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. The garden has grown so much over the past decade and encompasses so many different flowers and edibles that it is impossible to cover everything. I have had to cherry pick a few countries and favourites for the purpose of these posts. In this post, I will focus on some of our favourite flowers which either come from or are commonly associated with Europe. Irises I have always associated Le Muguet (Lily of the Valley) with France, which is given as a gift to loved ones on the 1st of May, a public holiday. That is what I learnt at school when I studied French (a unit was devoted to the culture). I didn’t realise that the Iris also has national significance in France, despite living there for four years in my 20s. Daffodils I have always associated daffodils with England, after studying the poem I wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth at school. Tulips While not originally from there, tulips come to mind when I think of the Netherlands (as well as windmills, gouda cheese, clogs, Van Gogh, Rembrandt and the ICJ). Ironically I visited Amsterdam while Keukenhof was open but I didn’t think of going out there as I had no interest in gardening whatsoever back then. David Austin roses
I am a huge fan of David Austin, who was English and is the best and most influential rose breeder of all time in my opinion. We have the following Austin rose varieties in our garden. All of them are 80/90cm standard roses, as with all of the roses in our garden.
I have just been advised that Wairere is finally able to supply The Lady Gardener, which I requested and has been on back order for many years due to supply issues. I am very excited that I will be adding this rose to the garden soon and hope to share a photo on social media when it flowers. One of my cousins lives in Telford, which isn’t that far away from David Austin’s gardens in Shropshire. I visited her once, but it never occurred to me to go there. I also had the opportunity to go the Chelsea Flower Show because I lived in London for eighteen months but I didn’t do that either. One year, I was actually in that area while it was on, having lunch at a friend’s house. The streets were packed with cars and she said “all that fuss over a flower show!”. We both laughed. While it might have been funny at the time, it has come back to haunt me now, especially since I steered the garden in the direction of flower farming in recent years and enjoy creating mass displays of flowers like you sometimes see in public gardens.
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This is my final post in a series of blogs about the tulip growing trial I conducted last winter. In this post, I will focus on the peony tulip varieties that I grew. All of these varieties (except for Menton Unique which sold out really quickly and I had to source from another supplier) were kindly supplied by Bulbs Direct, whose generous discount made it possible for me to conduct such an extensive growing trial. It’s not too late to order tulip bulbs for planting this season but to avoid disappointment, I highly recommend placing your order when the catalogue is first launched online, as popular varieties sell out very quickly. You can sign up to their newsletters so you are notified when the catalogue is uploaded to the website. It is usually around mid-January, which is not usually a time when people are thinking about planting spring bulbs. Peony tulips Last season, I grew the following varieties.
Verona This is a very early flowering peony tulip with short stems. It is yellow in colour and is very pretty. Double Price Double Price has short stems. It is another early flowering peony tulip variety. Columbus This is another early flowering peony tulip. It is bright pink and is one of my all-time favourite tulips. Columbus has long stems and is perfect for picking. Highly recommended! Wyndham Wyndham is an extremely beautiful purple peony tulip. It flowers early in the season, usually around the same time as Columbus. It has long stems and looks great in a vase. Flash Point This is a mid-season peony tulip variety. Menton Unique This is a late flowering peony tulip and is one of my absolute favourite varieties. Menton Unique has incredibly long stems. Highly recommended! Renown Unique This is another late flowering peony tulip and is the sister to Menton Unique. Renown Unique has incredibly long stems. I recommend using a plastic floral sleeve when arranging them in a vase as they tend to flop over. Ridgedale Ridgedale is a new variety which I grew for the first time last season. I was very impressed. It is a rich, red colour and is late to flower in the season. It looks beautiful in a vase. Red Princess This was the second to last of all my peony tulips (and tulips generally) to flower, around mid-September. Red Princess has short stems but looks beautiful in a smaller vase. Orange Princess
Orange Princess was the last to flower of all my tulips and is the sister to Red Princess. They also have short stems and are suitable for a smaller vase. This is the ninth post in a series which covers the tulip growing trial I conducted last winter and spring. In this short post, I would like to cover the two parrot tulips that I grew and in my tenth and final blog post, I intend to cover the peony tulip varieties that I grew. All of my tulip bulbs (except for Camargue and Menton Unique, as they sold out really quickly) were sourced from Bulbs Direct, whose generous discount made it possible for me to conduct such an extensive growing trial last season. It’s not too late to order tulips for planting this season if you haven’t already done so. They still have a great range available on their website. If you missed out on any varieties you were after, I highly recommend placing your order as soon as the spring bulbs catalogue is launched online, which is usually in the middle of January. You can sign up to their free newsletters so you are notified exactly when they go on sale. Extremely popular varieties such as Alibi, Camargue and Menton Unique can sell out very quickly so it pays to move fast if you want to grow these varieties. Just a little reminder that Bulbs Direct will happily pre-chill your tulip bulbs for you in their chiller if you live in a climate with mild winters, such as Auckland. Just pop a note in the comments section when you place your order. They will dispatch your tulips at the correct time for planting, so you can’t go wrong. The parrot tulips I grew the following two parrot tulips last winter.
Mascotte Mascotte is a late flowering tulip. It has short to medium stems and is very pretty. Irene Parrot
Irene Parrot flowered soon after Mascotte. It is also very pretty. This is Part VII in a series of blog posts about the tulip growing trial I carried out last year. Just a little reminder that almost all of my tulip bulbs came from the New Zealand mail order bulbs supplier Bulbs Direct, whose generous discount made it possible for me to carry out such an extensive growing trial encompassing 49 different tulip varieties, including singles, peony and parrot types. If you haven’t yet ordered tulips and are wanting to plant them this season, there’s still time. Bulbs Direct still have a great range available on their website. Beware that popular varieties tend to sell out quickly so make sure you order your tulips (and other spring bulbs) when the catalogue is first launched, which is usually around mid-January. You can sign up to their free newsletters and follow them on Facebook so you are notified when the spring bulbs catalogue first becomes available. In this blog post, I will concentrate on single flowering purple tulips. Single flowering purple varieties Last season, I planted the following single purple tulip varieties:
Alibi This is one of my absolute favourite, top performing tulips. Last year was the first season I grew it, as it was a new release. It is simply beautiful as you can see from the picture (at least in my opinion). But I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks so, as Alibi sold out on the website in no time at all. It is a beautiful shade of lilac purple, with medium stems. Alibi flowers early in the season. Cum Laude Cum Laude is an early flowering purple tulip. Saigon Saigon is an outstanding tulip. It flowers early in the season and has long stems. Highly recommended. Heydar Eliyev
This is a mid-season flowering single purple tulip. It is beautiful and has long stems. This is my sixth blog post about the tulip growing trial I conducted last year. In this post, I will focus on the single orange tulips I grew. Just a little reminder that all my tulip bulbs (except Camargue and Menton Unique because they sold out really quickly and I missed out) were sourced from the New Zealand mail order bulbs supplier Bulbs Direct, whose generous discount made it possible for me to conduct such an extensive growing trial spanning 49 different tulip varieties. A huge thank you to Kayne and his family! Single flowering orange tulips Last winter, I grew the following varieties:
Orange Babies This is perhaps my favourite out of all the orange single flowering tulips I grew last winter. It is early flowering and has medium stems. Orange Babies is absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend this variety. Ad Rem This is a Darwin tulip variety, which makes it suitable for growing in climates with mild winters like Auckland. Ad Rem is an early to mid-season flowering variety which has quite big flowers. It has long stems and is really beautiful. I highly recommend this variety. Orange Juice This is a beautiful orange tulip with long stems. Orange Juice flowers early to mid-season. It looks beautiful in a vase. Temples Favourite
This variety flowers later in the season and has long stems. It’s a good idea to use a plastic floral sleeve if placing them in a vase, as the flowers can tend to flop over. This is my fifth post in a series about the tulip growing trial I carried out last winter and early spring. I grew 49 different varieties, all of which came from the mail order bulbs supplier Bulbs Direct (except for Camargue and Menton Unique which I sourced from another supplier as they sold out really quickly). I had a collaboration with Bulbs Direct and am extremely grateful for the generous discount they gave me on my order. Without their generosity, I would not have been able to conduct such an extensive growing trial. It’s not too late to order tulips and other spring bulbs from their website. Normally they sell them up until the end of May. I highly recommend their range, quality, affordable prices and excellent customer service. In this post, I will focus on the single pink tulip varieties I grew last year. Single flowering pink tulips I grew the following single flowering pink varieties last season.
Pink Impression This is a very early flowering Darwin tulip which is suitable for growing in climates with mild winters. It has long stems and makes an excellent cut flower. Dynasty Dynasty is one of my all-time favourite, top performing tulips. It is a medium shade of pink with medium stems. It is early to flower. Its sister is White Dynasty. Piet Veerman This is a pinkish purplish early flowering tulip with medium to long stems. Carola Carola is a middle-season flowering tulip with short stems. Anaconda I was very impressed with Anaconda. This variety flowers around the middle of the season and has long stems. It is a very bright shade of pink and is excellent for cutting. Highly recommended. Grand Style Grand Style is another mid-season single pink tulip. Its stems are even longer than Anaconda. I recommend using a plastic floral sleeve when arranging them in a vase as they tend to flop over otherwise. I sourced these from a shop called Oceans, which is in the flower auction building in Mt Wellington. Otherwise you can order them from their website. Purk
This was the last of the single pink tulips I grew to flower. This is my fourth post in a series of blogs about the tulip growing trial I carried out last winter. A huge thank you to the New Zealand mail order bulbs supplier Bulbs Direct, whose generosity made it possible for me to carry out such an extensive growing trial spanning 49 different varieties. If you haven’t already ordered your tulip bulbs and are keen to try growing them, Bulbs Direct still have a great range available on their website. If you happen to have missed out on any popular varieties (and some do sell out very quickly), be sure to keep an eye out on their website around mid-January, when their spring bulbs first go on sale. Alternatively, you can sign up to their free newsletters by email, so you know exactly when the catalogue launch will take place. If you live in a region with mild winters like Auckland, where I live, Bulbs Direct are happy to pre-chill your tulip bulbs for the correct length of time, free of charge. They also dispatch your order at the correct time for planting them, so it’s really convenient. Single flowering red tulips Red tulips are a classic in the winter garden. They are extremely elegant and bring much cheer in the cooler months when it can often be grey and miserable. I grew the following varieties of single red tulips last winter.
I will describe each of these varieties in detail below, along with photos. Lalibella Lalibella is an early flowering red single tulip. This is known as a Darwin tulip. This variety fares well in climates with mild winters, like Auckland, where I live and as the name suggests. I’m not sure if they will grow in Darwin though! It is a more orange-red than pure red in colour. Lalibella has really long stems, making them perfect for cutting. I recommend inserting the flowers in a plastic floral sleeve when picked, so they sit upright as they can tend to droop otherwise. Ile de France This is another early flowering red single tulip, but it is what I would describe as a pure red rather than an orange red in colour. It has medium stems and looks great in a vase. Red Rover This is an early flowering variety, but not as pure red in colour as Ile de France. It has medium to long stems. London This is another early flowering red tulip and is also a Darwin variety. It is orange-red in colour rather than pure red. The stems are not as long as Lalibella. Strong Love
This is a beautiful deep red tulip that flowered mid-season. It has shorter stems than the other varieties. This was a popular tulip variety sold at the flower auction when I attended last spring. Its sister is called Strong Gold, a yellow colour. This is my third post in a series of blogs about the tulip growing trial I conducted last winter. A massive thank you to the New Zealand bulbs supplier Bulbs Direct for giving me an extremely generous discount on my order as part of our collaboration. Without their generosity, it would not be possible for me to conduct such an extensive growing trial with so many different tulip varieties. Don’t forget that it’s not too late to order tulips for planting this season. They still have a really good range available on their website. Single flowering yellow tulips I absolutely love yellow flowers. In summer, we always have yellow sunflowers, zinnias and dahlias in the garden of various different shades ranging from lemon to golden yellow. In winter, I rely on daffodils and tulips for my yellow fix in the garden. Yellow tulips are so bright and cheerful. They will be sure to bring a smile to your face or others if you give them away. I grew the following single yellow flowering tulips last winter:
Here is some more information about each of them, as well as some photos. Note that they are a mixture of early, mid-season and late flowering varieties. If you love yellow tulips like me, it’s a good idea to plant a range of varieties for staggered flowering throughout the tulip season. Friendship This is my all-time favourite yellow tulip. It is very early to flower and produces strong medium to long stems. Friendship is a great cut flower and is sure to add cheer to any garden and home. Balroyal Honey This is another beautiful early flowering single yellow tulip which flowered straight after Friendship. It has medium to long stems and looks lovely in a vase. Yellow Flight This variety flowered about the same time as Balroyal Honey but had slightly shorter stems. It is beautiful, too. Strong Gold This is a mid-season single flowering yellow tulip which has medium to long stems. It is lovely. Camargue Although I said above that Friendship is my favourite yellow tulip, Camargue is among my favourite, top performing tulips of all time. What distinguishes Camargue from all other tulips I have grown is its extra long stems. This variety benefits from being inserted in a plastic floral sleeve so the flowers sit upright, as they have a tendency to droop. You can buy these from a floral supplies shop or ask your local florist if they are able to sell you some. Camargue is a late flowering yellow single tulip variety. Golden Parade
This variety was the last to flower out of all my single flowering yellow tulips. Golden Parade is a beautiful tulip in a rich, golden shade of yellow. Following on from my first blog post about my tulip growing trial last winter, I would like to try and cover as many of the 49 varieties that I grew as I can. I hope this information is useful to other gardeners both in New Zealand and overseas. I have arranged them into categories and by colour where appropriate. Single flowering white varieties I absolutely love white tulips. There is something so pure and elegant about them. I grew the following single flowering white tulips last winter.
Here is some more information about each of them, as well as some photos. White Dynasty This is probably one of the top performing tulips I grew in the trial. It was early to flower, incredibly beautiful and lasted a very long time in a vase. I grew 200 of this variety as Bulbs Direct had a bulk discount offer on them and I did not regret it. We enjoyed having lots of bunches of these tulips indoors and gave some to friends. Snowboard Snowboard is another early flowering single white tulip variety with long stems, making it perfect for picking. Clearwater Clearwater is an outstanding early flowering white tulip and one of my favourites, second only perhaps to White Dynasty. It has incredibly long stems. Antarctica This is another early flowering white tulip with medium stems. It is beautiful. White Dream White Dream had very short stems compared to the other varieties I grew, so it is suitable for arranging in a shorter vase. Finally, a massive thank you to the New Zealand bulbs supplier Bulbs Direct for giving me an extremely generous discount on my order as part of our collaboration. Without their generosity, it would not be possible for me to conduct such an extensive growing trial with so many different tulip varieties. Don’t forget that it’s not too late to order tulips for planting this season. They still have a really good range available on their website.
Last year, New Zealand's largest mail order bulbs supplier Bulbs Direct (with whom I have a collaboration) kindly gave me a substantial discount on my spring bulbs order, enabling me to grow a whopping 49 different tulip varieties in winter. I have already featured the results of my tulip growing trial in a series of articles in my free weekly gardening newsletter, which is accessible on my website. I have held off writing a blog post until the new year, because I wanted the timing to coincide with the launch of Bulbs Direct's spring bulbs catalogue for 2023, when items are available for purchase and orders are being taken.
I will try my best to make this write up different to the articles in my newsletters because I don't want to simply reiterate what I have already written. For extensive coverage of all of the 49 varieties that I grew, including photos, I suggest that you refer to my newsletters if you are interested. The series starts with Volume 5, Issue 6 on 11 November 2022 and ends with Volume 5, Issue 14 on 6 January 2023. I planted all the tulip bulbs in mid-June, which is a bit later than normal. Usually I try to get all my spring bulbs into the ground by the end of May, but I was slightly delayed because the owner had Covid and had to self-isolate. He could only send out the bulbs after he had returned to work. It didn't actually matter (or indeed it was a good thing) because I think I had my best display of tulips ever last winter. The important thing was that the bulbs were pre-chilled, which Bulbs Direct kindly did for me free of charge. They will happily do that for other customers, too. Whether you need to chill your tulip bulbs prior to planting depends on where you live. As winters in Auckland are relatively mild, in order for them to flower well, tulip bulbs need to be chilled for around eight weeks prior to planting. If you don't do this, they will still probably flower, but the stems will be shorter. You can pop them in the veggie crisper section of the fridge, but it’s a good idea to pop an ethylene sachet in with them as any fruit and veggies stored in the fridge release a gas which may cause your bulbs not to flower. Because I had such a large order and planted over 600 tulips, they wouldn’t all fit in the fridge, which is why I was so grateful to Bulbs Direct for using their chiller and doing it for me. As bulbs contain all the essential nutrients in order to flower, all I did was add a little bulb fertiliser to the ground prior to planting. I used bulb baskets when planting my tulips. You don't have to do this, but it kept all the bulbs together, making it easier at the end of the season when I lifted them. In Auckland, tulips tend not to reflower that well the following season, so I treat them as an annual and purchase fresh bulbs every year. I have found that tulips can be planted quite close together. This means you can grow a lot of tulips even if you don’t have much space. Indeed they look much more dramatic and make more of an impact when planted close together when they flower. I was very careful with labelling all of the different varieties so I knew which was which when it came to cutting and photographing them. This proved to be a good idea as the single white varieties flowered around the same time and all looked the same to me. If you are keen on a continuous display of tulips, I suggest planting different varieties as they won’t all flower at the same time. Roughly speaking, tulips can be categorised into early, mid-season and late flowering varieties. Planting a mixture of single, peony and parrot varieties can further extend your growing season. Generally speaking, tulips are sold in a minimum quantity of five bulbs. You can usually also get them in lots of 25 and 100 from mail order bulbs suppliers. If you require different quantities, you could always try checking with the supplier to see if they can accommodate you. Some mail order suppliers might offer special discounts for flower farmers, who require larger quantities of the same variety to sell commercially at the flower auction or to wholesalers. What I grew in the trial Single flowering varieties White: White Dynasty, Snowboard, Clearwater, Antarctica, White Dream Red: Lalibella, London, Red Rover, Ile de France, Strong Love Yellow: Friendship, Balroyal Honey, Yellow Flight, Strong Gold, Golden Parade and Camargue Orange: Ad Rem, Orange Babies, Orange Juice, Temples Favourite Pink: Pink Impression, Dynasty, Piet Veerman, Carola, Anaconda, Grand Style, Purk Purple: Alibi, Cum Laude, Saigon, Heydar Eliyev The Princess varieties Pretty Princess, Princess Irene Bicolour single varieties Dow Jones, Leen Van Der Mark, Karlijn, Flaming Kiss Parrot varieties Irene Parrot, Mascotte Peony varieties (double flowering tulips) Double Price, Verona, Columbus, Flash Point, Wyndham, Menton Unique, Renown Unique, Ridgedale, Red Princess, Orange Princess I would really like to develop this into a series of blog posts and cover the different varieties I grew in more detail. It may be of interest to other gardeners in New Zealand and even overseas, as some of these varieties may be available there, too. |
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