The Supreme Qualities

Are there any plants that better display the supreme qualities of elegance and poise than the species tulips in bud?

I just want to look up close at one – Tulipa clusiana var. chrysantha

The more I looked at my pics, the more captivated I became with detail.  I mean, just look at these deliciously sinuous overlapping folds

And then the tapering flower tips, holding on to their early-morning dew

This is a lovely variety of the Lady Tulip.  I like the straight species (Tulipa clusiana) even better, but couldn’t catch them at the right moment of bud-swell

This has set plenty of seed, and in an irresistible move of counting chickens way before they’re hatched I’m seeing hundreds of them, confetti-ing through my ‘steppe‘.

DSC_0644

By the way, I’m now on Instagram – @michaelmccoyongardens

Discussion

  1. Georgia O’Keefe would have loved that!

    1. Sure would! Makes me want to pick up a paint brush myself

  2. Tulipa clusiana is no doubt an awesome flower. Unfortunately, I cannot have this type of flowers because my garden space is too short. Looking forward in the future when we move to another state.

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

More Blog Posts

Great Dixter by deception

I was hunting for a pretext on which to show off some rare photos of Great Dixter (one of my favourite places in the world, and about which I tend to rant a little too often and at too great a length) ...

Of the Mountains and Valleys

There’s two particular questions that I’m always dealing with when designing a garden, or evaluating an existing one.  I’ve been dealing with them for years, though they’ve only recently emer ...

What? Careful colour at Keukenhof?

I was just in the Netherlands at tulip time.  It was, of course, mind boggling.  I’m convinced that no flower beats the tulip for being just as compelling as an individual as it is en masse.   ...