Description
About this tulip:
This showpiece is tulip Marilyn, a lily-flowered tulip with a graceful white flower with pink-purple stripes.
What is the meaning of the color(s) of the tulip?
White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity and virginity. It is considered the color of perfection. White is the color of new beginnings, it is the blank canvas waiting to be written on. While white doesn’t stimulate our senses, it does open the way for the creation of anything the mind can imagine.
There are many shades of pink to describe. From bubblegum to lilac and magenta. Pink is the color of caring or compassion. The intensity of the color pink largely determines the feeling it evokes. In a softer form, for example baby pink, it can have a calming effect. The color is often used to indicate the subject of love.
Which group does the tulip belong to?
Triumph Group: Single flowered cultivars, stem of medium length, mid season flowering. Original the result of hybridization between cultivars of the Single Early Group and the Single Late Group.
The Tulip:
The tulip is one of the most famous flower bulbs in the world, the Netherlands exports a lot of tulip bulbs to other countries every year. The Dutch climate is extremely suitable for tulip cultivation because the sandy soil behind the dunes ensures that the crop can develop optimally. Almost half of the Dutch flower fields are full of tulips. In the largest flower park in Europe, the Keukenhof near Amsterdam, you can see more than 800 different tulips. The spring park will open its doors at the end of March. Each year, the flower park has a special theme that inspired the designs of the gardens and flower shows in the pavilions. Flowers have been part of our lives for centuries. Flowers are used as classic symbols in art, architecture and design.
The origin of the tulip:
The origin of tulips can be found in Asia, in countries such as Iran, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. Tulips also occur naturally in North Africa and Southern Europe. Tulips need cold nights and cold winters to grow. Eventually, the flower reaches Turkey. This is the country where the tulip gets the name we know: tulipa (in Latin). The name is derived from the local name for a turban, tulipan.
But how did the tulip end up in The Netherlands?
The Turkish sultan Süleyman, who lives in 1550, is a very rich man. He fills his gardens full of flowers, especially tulips. When the Sultan is in a very good mood he gives, by exception, some tulip bulbs as a gift. For instance to the Flemish envoy in Turkey, Ogier Gisleen van Busbeke. Ogier gives a few tulip bulbs to the Fleming Carolus Clusius (Charles de l’Écluse) who manages the herb garden of the Austrian emperor. The tulips occupy a prominent place in the emperor’s garden. Clusius becomes professor at Leiden University in The Netherlands. Of course he takes a number of tulip bulbs with him. Clusius is very careful with his bulbs and refuses to sell them. One night, thieves steal some bulbs from his garden. This is the beginning of the tulip and bulb trade in the Netherlands.
Inspired? Check out the other Tulips on our website.
