History of tulips involves skulduggery and broken hearts
We are delighted that we are able to open our castle gates to an early Tulip Festival – the stunning tulips are flowering a few weeks earlier than expected!
It’s good to remember that tulips don’t flower for long, therefore we carefully choose different varieties that flower at slightly different times, which normally allows for about a three-week timescale.
In our large terracotta pots, alongside the water rill with its ornate gilt lion fountains, we planted the beautiful ‘pink impression’ tulips with pretty blue myosotis (forget-me-not).
This year we will feature 60,000 tulips, over 120 different named tulips, some of our early tulips are the ‘candy prince’, ‘yokohama’, ‘foxy foxtrot’, and ‘Monte Carlo’; then look out for the mandarin-scented ‘ballerina’, the striking, deep maroon ‘queen of the night’ and the playfully striped ‘Marilyn’. In addition we have a dazzling display of spring flowers within bulbs the castle gardens and grounds. There are various types of narcissi – daffodils, some of which have naturalised on the steep castle slopes, highlighting in yellow the majestic castle walls abov. The primroses this year are wonderful flowering on our castle grass banks and we are looking forward to showcasing our crown imperials, hyacinths, snake’s head fritillary and tulips during this month.
The stunning central grass labyrinth features white
‘thalia’ daffodils with red ‘apeldoorn’ and red ‘Oxford’ tulips. Over the centuries tulips have been cultivated so well that we are confident there is a variety to suit all tastes, whether you like the fussy parrot types such as ‘black parrott’, with its unusual flower shape and colour, or the graceful lily-flowered ones such as ‘purple dream’ or ‘white triumphator’. For a really natural look ‘spring green’ are beautiful planted in a border with herbaceous plants, but if you just want to dazzle your neighbours, plant up some pots with vibrant ‘Olympic flame’, ‘red impression’ or ‘apeldoorn of beauty’. My personal favourite tulip is the very subtle pink, double late peony-flowered tulip ‘angelique’ and ‘La Belle Epoque’, which is the most incredible coffee mousse colour flushed with pink.
The history of tulips is fascinating; it really is full of intrigue, skulduggery, broken hearts and instant fortunes! While on holiday in Spain recently, I was very surprised to come across some beautiful 16th-century tiles with exquisite tulips and birds illustrated on them at the Ducal Palace of Gandia, Valencia. This palace was the 14th-century residence of the Royal Dukes of Gandía, and from 1485, the home of the Spanish Borja family, sometimes spelt Borgia – the same notorious family that produced two Popes in Rome during the Renaissance period, both of which had reputations of great treachery and gained immense wealth; it must however be noted that the palace was also the birthplace of Saint Francis Borja, who dedicated his life the Jesuit faith and historically these tiles link in nicely with the “Tulipmania” during the time of Suleiman I, commonly known as ‘Suleiman the Magnificent’, 1520 to 1566. During the reign of Ahmed
III, 1703 to 1730, the period was known as “The Age of the Tulip” as they were highly prized as a symbol of great wealth and prestige. Mirrors were even placed behind specimens to give the illusion there were even more! Here at Arundel Castle, in the Stumpery Garden, we have focused on the smaller more delicate botanical tulips such as ‘sylvestris’ and ‘Persian pearls’ which look stunning among the ancient tree stumps and for colour we have added the striking red ‘tulipa linifolia’ and ‘little beauty’ that complement the narcissi, scillas and snake’s-head fritillary. In the Cut Flower Garden and Kitchen Gardens we have stunning tiered displays of tulips, known as the ‘wedding and christening cakes’, to add a dramatic floral structure to the gardens. Within the Wild Flower Garden there’s a wonderful bright mix of 14,000 tulips, ‘passionale’, ‘mistress’, ‘Paul Scherer’ and ‘Bastogne’ planted around the thatched roundhouse. Tips from the garden team:
○ The best time to plant your tulip bulbs is November and at least four inches deep for spring flowering.
○ Mix your tulips to extend your flowering time in pots and plant bulbs thickly in pots to give a high impact.
○ Use other combinations with tulips such as myositis, primulas, wallflowers and pansies.
○ In borders plant your tulips in swathes or drifts to give a natural look.
○ As April progresses continue sowing and planting vegetables outside.
○ Make sure you water newly planted shrubs and trees in dry weather.
○ Tie in new shoots of climbers.
○ Continue to divide your perennials and stake your tall growing perennials such as delphiniums.