There are over three thousand varieties of beautiful tulips, split into fifteen groups, based on flower types, height, and blooming period. So many tulips for spring.
However, we cannot look at all of them on this post, so I have just chosen a few to share with you.
Choosing beautiful tulips for spring in the autumn and getting your orders in is such an exciting time. Indeed, a time chock full of anticipation for your springtime displays, I think.
November is thought to be the best time to plant the bulbs as the colder conditions reduce the risk of the fungal disease tulip fire.
More about the dreaded tulip fire and how to plant your tulip bulbs can be found in a previous post. I have added the link below for you.
Time to choose beautiful tulips for spring
Time for some beautiful tulips for spring
First up on this post, I have chosen a photo of some of my super bright and beautiful tulips to share with you.
These are mostly tulip Ballerina, a fiery orange lily-flowered variety, bursting with colour. Additionally, a fantastic tulip with a subtle freesia-like fragrance.
I have added a few Ronaldo tulips to one pot, which brings some colour contrast to my display.
Planting tulips in pots is a fantastic way to provide a colourful display exactly where you need it.
In this instance, a place where our beautiful cat had recently been laid to rest, near to his favourite sleeper seat. Beautiful Bod the super senior rescue cat, who lived happily until the ripe old age of nineteen and a half.
So, a fabulous area full of bright and cheerful colour. Ideal for lifting the spirits and remembering a much-loved furry companion.
After flowering, the pots are removed and replaced with summer flowers to continue the display.
Beautiful tulips for pollinators
Although tulips are usually grown for boosting colour during springtime, they are also a useful food source for bees.
As tulips bloom from early to late spring depending on the variety, there is a great opportunity to provide plenty of pollen for several months.
Accordingly, if you peep into the centre of a beautiful tulip, you will notice the black anthers that are usually covered in bright yellow pollen. Additionally, the pollen is often in great quantities so you can spot it as pollen dust on the inner petals as well.
Since bees emerge after winter hibernation early in the year, they need a ready supply of food. Pollen has nutrients and protein.
However, the nectar supply in tulips is low so other flowers are needed. See the link at the bottom of this post for spring bulbs providing a great nectar source.
My photo above shows a beautiful tulip named The First, and it certainly does live up to its name.
Although these tulips only reach a height of 20cm, they look splendid in a pot. Springing up and blooming from March this gives a welcome shot of colour in pots, a rockery, or the front of a border.
Besides the white colouring which my photo shows, they have bright red stripes on the outside of the petals.
A beautiful tulip of the Kaufmanniana species and a fantastic tulip for spring.
Bees are most attracted to violet colours, so I make sure I also have some of these colours, including Purple Prince (purple, early flowering) and Bleu Amiable (lavender, late flowering).
I cannot resist a purple flower, just like those lovely bees!
More beautiful tulips for spring
Next, one of my new combinations, which I tried first in a pot.
Tulip Havran is a stunning variety of tulip bulb. A beautiful combination of dark purple and maroon and one of my favourites.
I decided to plant the beautiful Havran with the lovely Apricot Foxx.
Apricot Foxx is a beautiful soft apricot colour with a hint of apricot pink. A tulip that can change colour with the heat of spring. When the weather is cool the colours are softer, but if it is a hot spring the colour can intensify.
Both varieties flower in late April and May and make an interesting display together.
Because Havran is slightly taller, 50cm, to Apricot Foxx’s 45cm, I planted Havran in the centre and the Foxxy tulips around the edges.
Another tulip that changes colour
Next, I thought I would share Whispering Dreams. A fabulous tulip that starts as a cream edged soft pink. Then, as the flower matures the colour changes to ivory-white and the pink edges deepen to a beautiful rich pink.
A lovely lily-flowered tulip with a fantastic colour changing habit.
I grow this one in pots and also in my flower borders and will get more this year too, to add to other areas. I love the colours that tulips for spring brings me.
Other two-tone varieties are Blushing Lady (yellow /pink) Elegant lady (creamy yellow / violet, red) and Sonnet (deep purple /yellow) to name a few.
Once I find an interesting new tulip like Whispering Dream, I see other areas of the garden where they would look super. So, I just have to place another order for some more!
Another tulip for flowering in late April and early May.
Height 40cm
Pink, white and purple tulips
Next, I have a selection of bright pink, pale pink, purple and white tulips.
Initially, I lay out my bulbs and work out which varieties I would like to plant where. Primarily, I prefer some colour coordinated planting, rather than any clashing colours. But if you like the clashing colours, go for it!
Additionally, it is often lovely to have a variety of flower shapes in one area too.
In this instance, as seen above, I have chosen white, pink and light purple for my colour scheme, but some pale yellow has crept in!
Also, I have some white comfrey at the back of the border, which is a magnet for the bees. However, this does need to be kept in check or it takes over the border.
I have some lily-flowered, some parrots and several double flowered varieties in this display.
The varieties are Purple Doll, Shirley Double, Claudia, Double Foxtrot and Parrot Prince. I am not sure who the naughty pale yellow double tulip is though.
A border tulip display
Finally, a view of one of my spring borders full of beautiful tulips, pansies, and poached egg plants.
Besides some of my favourite dark and sultry tulips, I added a variety that would be super bright and zingy. Black Bean, Black Parrot, and Ballerina, gives me a beautiful display which I repeated in other borders.
I hope you have enjoyed this post and will have plenty of spring colour in your gardens and pots next year. I will publish some more tulip posts, split into colours in the next couple of months. Maybe some other spring bulb posts too.
I have added the link below for a recent spring bulb post with some ideas on what to plant for a beautiful spring display for you and the pollinators.
Time to order beautiful bulbs for spring
Ordering tulips for spring
I order tulips from Sarah Raven and J Parkers and have provided links below.
Both have fantastic collections as well as separate varieties in all the different forms. The bulbs I have ordered have been a good size and quality and all have grown well and provided fantastic colour in my garden and pots.
I have my eye on the J Parker collection of orange tulips, as these are a new bright and zingy passion of mine. How lovely they would look with the collection of black tulips.
Oh, now I have seen the collection of blue and purple. Fantastic colours and a boon for the bees. Looks like I need to sort my list!
Click here for Sarah Raven tulips
Click here for J Parkers tulips
This blog is an affiliate for J Parkers and Sarah Raven. If you click on one of these links above, and make a purchase I may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you.
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