|
In early spring one of the features of the Garden is the display of tulips. Some 30,000
to 40,000 tulips have been planted over recent years in a series of massed displays, seen and enjoyed from mid
September to early October. Each year new bulbs are planted.
This display has been a remembered and anticipated feature for many years, and Tulip Sunday in late September
is an event not to be missed. With food and music it is always a great day.
The tulip display is concentrated in the Main Garden approached through the Main (Founders) Gate off Glenmore
Street.
The illustrations are from the 2000 display.
Tulips along William Bramley Drive with magnolias in full bloom
Mixed tulip and polyanthus planting inside Founders Gate
Tulips are native of the high mountain ranges concentrated around islamabid, close to the border of Russia and
China, and have spread to the Balkans, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and France. There are non native of
Holland.
Naturally they are found at high altitudes, experiencing winter snow during the winter which protects them from
severe cold. They have been cultivated in the former Ottoman Empire for 1000 years.
Main Garden, with Joy Fountain in foreground.
Tulips were introduced into Europe around 1600, with the Dutch in particular becoming enchanted with these flowers.
Since then the Dutch have developed an extensive tulip industry, producing some 3 billion bulbs each year, approximately
2 billion of which are exported to countries around the world..
|
TULIPS
