EVEN THE SOIL RESPECTS A TULIP’S PATIENCE…

EVEN THE SOIL RESPECTS A TULIP’S PATIENCE…


Known as “The Herald of Spring”, tulips originated in prehistoric times in the steppes of Anatolia (Turkey) and the Himalayas as a much smaller dwarf version of the Dutch tulips we know today. The Turks then cultivated these wild tulips for centuries as symbols of wealth, beauty, and power due to their hardiness in the harshest of climates, and the Ottoman Empire became known as the “Tulip Period” before the flower spread to Europe. Their name even comes from the Turkish word for “turban” (tulipan).

An ambassador from the Habsburg court brought bulbs from Constantinople (Istanbul) to Vienna in the 1500’s, and the botanist Carolus Clusius planted them at Leiden University in the Netherlands in the late 16th century. More Dutch botanists introduced them to Dutch citizens, thus sparking “Tulipomania” from 1634 to 1637. Tulips became a national obsession: rare varieties like ‘Semper Augustus’ were traded like stocks, costing more than a house or a fleet of ships. People went homeless just to own rare tulip bulbs. For example, the tulip known as “The Viceroy” was offered for sale for between 3,000 and 4,200 guilders, depending on weight; a skilled artisan earned about 300 guilders a year. Eventually, the bubble burst in 1637, and the market for tulips collapsed disastrously, leaving people with nothing but bulbs they couldn’t even eat or plant since they had no homes in which to eat or grow them.

Despite their origins, tulips became synonymous with the Netherlands due to the larger varieties bred, and their association with famous Dutch artists of the Golden Age of the 1600’s such as Rembrandt, who more than any other artist loved to immortalize tulips on wood and canvas. Today, a special type of tulip with feathered edges and wild stripes, the Rembrandt Tulip, carries his name as a badge of honor.