Plant Yourself a “Small Extravagance” this Fall

William Cullina, the author of three highly-regarded books about native plants, is one of the last people you might expect to hear praising tulips. But that’s exactly what Bill did in an article in the January 2014 issue of Horticulture magazine:

“After a long gray winter, the burst of Technicolor tulips in our spring gardens provides me the same sensation moviegoers must have experienced in 1939 when Dorothy spiraled down into Oz. Our annual display of tulips at the [Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens] brings throngs of winter-weary families out on warm weekends to soak up the life-giving color, and school groups have begun scheduling their annual trips around the peak display. Though it may seem excessive to some, we purchase tens of thousands of bulbs from Holland each October and plant them in soil recently vacated by frost-slain summer annuals. With a few weeks of gentle weather left, the bulbs quickly sprout a nest of white roots to anchor them against the heaving frosts. Once their blooms have been spent the following spring, we dig them up to make way for summer displays. . . . On a smaller scale at home, even a hundred bulbs can make for an attention-getting display, and . . . this small extravagance will not break the bank.”

Heck, even 10 or 25 tulips can bring a “life-giving” splash of color to your spring garden — so here’s a list of our 19 most affordable tulips to help you plant your own little bit of Technicolor magic this fall!

Our Most Affordable Tulips