Tulip time

 My daughter has put a pot of tulips by our front path to welcome visitors.  Tulips grow wild mostly in the Middle East and as garden plants they became popular in Turkey before travelling across Europe to The Netherlands and other countries.  In Turkey tulips have a spiritual significance as the letters of their Turkish word for the flower are the same as those in one of the names of Allah.  The flower is still popular there and the month of April is the International Istanbul Tulip Festival.  The Dutch also have various tulip festivals including a Tulip Day in January.  I would have thought ice skating along the canals would be more appropriate,  But the Dutch are suffering from overtourism, so this might be one of the ways of reducing visitor numbers.  However, closer to home there  are plenty of opportunities such as the Spalding Flower Festival with a colourful parade on12th May.

Some sources say tulip petals are edible and taste like onions.  However the bulbs are toxic and all parts are poisonous to dogs so I would recommend that they are just enjoyed as something to look at.

The writer Silvia Plath wrote a beautiful, but troubled, poem called Tulips: The tulips are too excitable. It is winter here. .... (they) should be behind bars like dangerous animals.


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