Crimson, Scarlet, and Inky Blue: The Vibrant World of 1906 Tulips

On This Day
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:

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May 19, 1906

On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves transported to the verdant gardens of Edwardian England, courtesy of a delightful update on the tulip season from Country Life magazine.

Prepare to be enchanted by the vivid descriptions and intriguing insights into the floral fashions of yesteryear!

The writer paints a picture of a landscape bursting with life and color:

The writer regards the season of Tulips as one of the brightest and happiest of the year.

Daffodils still flutter in the wind, the first of the Roses are bursting their buds, and the whole air is filled with the scent of wayside of garden flowers.

But it is the Tulip that gives the colour, splashes of crimson, scarlet, yellow, rose, white, and even black.

Can you envision this riot of color, dear gardeners?

The daffodils dancing in the breeze, the promise of roses yet to come, and the bold tulips standing proud amidst it all?

But wait! Did our eyes deceive us?

A black tulip?

A black Tulip is a reality, and is known as The Sultan.

It belongs to the race called Darwin, but we prefer the homely name of the May or Cottage Tulip.

Dusky as the firm, short segments are, they have weird, strange beauty, which is as fascinating as the clear crimson of the greatest of all Tulips, Tulipa gesneriana major, which opens its big goblets to the sun and discloses a pool of inky blue at the base.

Oh, how intriguing!

Can you picture this sultry 'Sultan' tulip, its dark petals a stark contrast to its more vibrant cousins?

The article goes on to note a shift in horticultural trends:

A few years ago the May Tulips were seldom seen, but persistent reference to them has brought about a revolution: so much so, that one greets the Tulip with much the same affection as the Daffodil which precedes it.

We believe it was in the Royal Gardens, Kew, that the Gesner and other Tulips were first planted in large beds, and the effect of their glorious colour we shall ever remember, it was a novel sight...

Isn't it fascinating to consider how tulips were perceived compared to the daffodil a little over a hundred years ago?

The writer's excitement over the "novel sight" of large tulip beds at Kew Gardens speaks volumes about the changing tastes of the time.

As we reflect on this snapshot of tulip season from 1906, let us consider how our own perceptions of these spring blooms have evolved.

Do we still greet the tulip with the same enthusiasm as our Edwardian counterparts?

Perhaps this charming account might inspire us to look at our spring gardens with fresh eyes, to appreciate anew the "splashes of crimson, scarlet, yellow, rose, white, and even black" that tulips bring to our landscapes.

Until next time, dear readers, may your gardens be as bright and happy as the tulip season of 1906!

Crimson Tulip
Crimson Tulip