I don’t grow tulips. Our climate, in the sunny South, dictates that they be treated as annuals rather than a more permanent garden fixture as they are in other parts of the country and the world. And, I am a jealous guardian of my garden spaces – and my gardening time and energy. I think that although they are undeniably beautiful for a few weeks, they don’t offer any benefits to pollinators and they are just not worth the resources that they require.
Instead, they are my store – bought guilty pleasure. Guilty because I know that buying florist’s flowers is not an environmentally sustainable practice. Though the $5 billion dollar cut flower industry in the U.S. helps provide jobs for workers in Columbia and Ecuador where these flowers were most probably grown, the environmental impact is huge. Grown with pesticides and shipped thousands of miles, tulips are an aesthetic pleasure that I rarely indulge in.
But on this cold winter day, with guests coming for dinner, I am grateful for the sheer beauty of these simple blossoms. They lift my spirit and are, as my Mama used to say, a “tide-me-over” until my own garden flowers can provide arrangements for the table.
Though I could have chosen any number of different colors, I love the simplicity and quiet beauty of white. They’re the zen of flowers – quiet and calming. Every time I walked into the room, I was struck with the miracle of beauty, which serves little ecological purpose except to remind us humans that life and nature are a gift.
Tulips have always had that effect on people. Easily recognized tulip designs on pottery shards date back 4,000 years ago. Archeologists tell us that they were probably one of the first plants cultivated solely for their beauty. In the 17th century explorers took tulip seeds and bulbs from their native Turkey to the Netherlands were the tulip industry developed astronomically quickly. By the middle of the 17th century, “tulip mania” was in full swing and rare tulip bulbs were more valuable than gold.
There are no tulips native to North America, but that doesn’t keep us from growing these gorgeous flowers in tremendous numbers, particularly in cold regions where they come back year after year. There are a huge number of cultivars and varieties, from fringed to streaked to speckled. But for me, a vase of simple white tulips on a winters day brings the greatest pleasure.