5 Reasons to Grow Tantalisingly Beautiful Tulips in Your Tiny Garden
Tulips are the swashbuckling heroes of your spring garden. Flamboyant, frilly and downright outrageous, there is a tulip variety suitable for you to grow in your garden, whatever its size.
I defy you not to feel uplifted when you witness the journey of the pebble-like bulbs developing into majestic flowers full of charm and panache. They’re easy to grow and you’ll be delighted with this solution for rejuvenating your spring garden.
You can afford to be bold with your colour choices of tulips because they will probably flower before the majority of your other garden plants. You can feel free to choose colours outside your typical palette — so liberating!
1. Tulip flowers are beautiful at every stage
Tulips may only flower for a month or so, but they work extraordinarily hard to offer you interest at every step of their flowering life. As buds, they are sleek, often glossy and elegant, but their inner character remains a mystery.
As tulips gradually unfurl their petals, you catch tantalising glimpses of their inner colours. Sometimes there will be a completely different and contrasting centre.
An ageing tulip is a flower of grace. The petals will fade and become translucent, but in the right light tulips become even more breathtaking as they show their more muted side.
2. There is a vast choice of tulip colours
Tulips have one of the widest ranges of colour choice of any flowering plant. Whatever your preferences, you will be able to find a tulip that excites you.
There are cool, pastel tones right through to blazingly hot tones. Have fun browsing through online catalogues to find a variety (or two or three) that speaks to you.
Consider deviating from your usual flower colour choices as a fun way to expand your horizons. I know keen gardeners who choose safe, calm colours for their tulips, but lament them when spring rolls around. After the cold greyness of winter, we all seem to crave a blaze of juicy colour in our gardens.
Don’t fight it — embrace it!
3. Tulips are cheap
Some plants are expensive. Not so with even the best quality tulips. A bag of 10–15 bulbs is around £4 ($5) depending who you buy them from.
You could plant 10 bulbs in a single container for a vibrant splash of colour — this can have a huge impact in a small space. Or divide a bag of 15 bulbs into two pots of different sizes for another style of display.
Given that many tulips will be visibly developing and bringing you joy for 4–6 weeks, I think that is a fair price to pay. I compare plant prices to what you would pay for cut flowers of that type, which can offer perspective.
4. Tulips can be bee-friendly
Some tulips offer valuable nectar for hungry bees as they emerge from hibernation. Seeing a bee feast on your bright and jolly tulips is a heartwarming sight. Tiny gardens can be brilliant nature sanctuaries.
You will need to be selective if you want a bee-friendly tulip variety, but many online bulb grower catalogues have filters for this quality. Often, bee-friendly tulips (like these orange Ballerina ones) are deliciously fragrant.
Planting tulips with wallflowers (a classic combination) will increase the nectar sources for bees.
5. Tulips make fantastic cut flowers
Cutting your precious tulips will be easier if you have two or three pots of them. That way, you can have some in your house and some in your garden.
When you cut tulips and bring them into your house, you can watch every single stage of the flower shape and colour developing. The buds will be protected from the weather, so they won’t suffer damage this way.
Tulips prefer to be in a cool room and need plenty of fresh water as the stems continue to grow after cutting.
Why not choose a fabulous parrot tulip to bring drama to your indoor space?
When lit from behind, parrot tulips are spectacular.
The Nitty Gritty — how to get the best out of your tulip bulbs
Planting your tulip bulbs
Tulips like being planted in containers. They often perform better in a pot than in the ground.
Plant them in late autumn, after the first frosts, pointy end up and leave a gap between bulbs. Use good quality compost and check the specific planting depth on your choice of tulips (it will say on the packet).
Planting low down in a deep container will help protect them from hungry squirrels and voles. Or you could try a liberal sprinkling of extra-hot chilli powder as a deterrent.
Siting your tulips
Tulips love the sun. Fidget your pots around so your newly planted tulip bulbs can soak up those rays. If it’s been dry, you may need to water them.
Now you know why you’ll love growing tulips to boost your precious outdoor space. Which colour of tulips would you like to plant in your tiny garden?
Be bold — you know you want to!
