Tulips and their history.

These late blooming Spring bulbs with large flower heads are cultivated in many amazing colours. The European word Tulip originated from the Persian word for Turban and resembles it in shape.

Tulips originated in Persia and Turkey and were introduced to England in the 1630’s.Tulip bulbs were traded as money for property.

They were very expensive and only purchased by the very wealthy, to put that cost into perspective some bulbs were the equivalent of buying a house in Amsterdam in the early 1600’s or a handful of bulbs selling for 10,000 guilders would cover the cost of a family to home clothe and feed them for half a lifetime.

This was referred to as 'Tulip Mania' and their value continued to rise until they simply became too expensive to purchase or trade even the cheapest single bulb, resulting in the crash of this trend.

They began to grow again in popularity in the 17th and 18th century thanks to the Dutch who became experts at cultivating the tulip.

Tulips are part of the Lily family and have antiseptic properties for coughs, colds, sinus pain and hay fever.

Garden to home; growing your own tulips to enjoy in your kitchen is easy, affordable and rewarding.