April: Tulips

Tulips are good value in the garden providing colour from March although April and May are their peak months. There are a number of distinct groups, known as divisions or classes, including Single Early, Triumph, Fringed, Lily Flowered and Viridiflora as well as the species tulips. Nearly all tulips like a sunny, open position and come in a wide range of colours, shapes and sizes to suit most situations. On reasonable soil and assuming that they like you, tulips will last years in the border and can bulk up to create larger clumps. Their leaves tend to die more gracefully than narcissi so they can look better in borders, particularly en masse. Tulips are excellent in pots, make good cut flowers and some of the smaller varieties are best seen in rock or gravel gardens, a few varieties even naturalise in grass.

Some favourites by season:

Species – most are early, often in March, although a few flower in May. For early flowering one of the Tulipa humulis such as ‘Persian Pearl’ with rosy purple petals or T. tarda, pale creamy yellow, are good and reliable choices. A current “must-have” for a really hot well drained site is T. acuminata with bizarre narrow pointed yellow and red petals.

Kaufmanniana – these are early tulips, most flowering in mid-March and quite small at around 6-10” including Showwinner with bright red flowers.

Triumph - Princess Irene flowers in April and has pale orange flowers flamed purple/dark green, try it with an acid green Euphorbia such as E. x martini or E. characias or with the purple foliage and blue flowers of Ajuga repens ‘Catlins Giant’.

Virdiflora – Spring Green has off white feathered green flowers while China Town is all pale pink and white with green markings and is a shorter border variety at only 12”. These normally flower late April into May.

Lily Flowered – These have elegant pointed petals and flower in May. China Pink is good with forget-me-knots, West Point is taller with primrose yellow blooms and could combine well with deep red wallflowers while Ballerina has scented orange flowers.

Parrot – Black Parrot is a deep purple fringed tall variety that also looks good with the pale blue of forget-me-knots. Green Wave has a truly flamboyant look with fringed pink, mauve and white petals with bright green flames. These are late flowering tulips, often well into May.

CAF