The Tulip

...the story of a flower that has made men mad.  Greed, desire, anguish and devotion have all played their part in the development of the tulip from a wild flower of the Asian steppes...the tulip arrived from Turkey and took the whole of Western Europe by storm".  This an exerpt from a book I have called "The Tulip" by Anna Pavord.  Instead of being a gardening book, it is the story of the history of the tulip through the ages.  We discovered that the tulip has great historical and artistic significance in Turkey where many of the sultans gardens are covered in tulip beds.  The tiles that line the walls of the palaces are different variations of stylistic tulips twining their ways around the rooms in gorgeous patterns.

We are so fortunate here in Western Washington to have glorious fields of tulips growing each April in the Skagit Valley around La Conner and Anacortes.  Yesterday afternoon, our first sunny 65 degree day of the year,  Dennis and I took a drive up to the tulip fields.  We left our house in the early evening and got up there when the crowds were leaving so we had a wonderful hour of wandering and photo taking.

Happy Easter and happy Spring