When I started growing tulips at Blacklands in 2007, I had no appreciation that my new obsession might harm the environment. The fact that most tulip bulbs are grown on an industrial scale, sprayed with chemicals and freighted to the UK did not overly concern me, and at the peak of my mania I was planting more than 15,000 a year. After flowering, the spent bulbs were composted and I ordered new ones for the following year. More was definitely more.
Almost 20 years on, my enthusiasm has kept growing but so has my environmental awareness. My garden, Blacklands in Wiltshire, is now organically certified by the Soil Association UK. I hold the National Collection of Tulipa (Historic), and host regular open days, workshops and lecture days in aid of various charities.
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The idea of introducing chemically treated bulbs into our rich, black soil and throwing them away afterwards no longer appeals, so I have dramatically reduced the numbers I purchase while increasing naturalised displays.
These days I grow only species tulips in my herbaceous borders, and annual tulips are planted in oversized containers throughout the garden. The bulbs are recycled elsewhere in the garden after their first year of flowering.
This year I ordered a mere 5,000 tulip bulbs, which were chosen to live a longer, more sustainable life. I still grow a few rows for cutting and selling at charity open days, but the emphasis is on repeat flowering and my attitude is far from throwaway.
How to grow tulips more sustainably
Source from organic suppliers
I source annual or hybrid tulips from organic bulb suppliers, such as Organic Bulbs and Organic Gardener, or companies with strong green credentials, such as Peter Nyssen, and focus on tulips that will come back reliably. Each year I challenge myself to create new displays to entertain garden visitors and keep myself stimulated.
Choose varieties that tend to come back year after year
Of the 16 tulip divisions, I rely most heavily on Viridiflora (division 8) and Lily-flowered (division 6) types for their ability to produce healthy-sized bulbs for the following year, including Tulipa ‘Très Chic’, ‘Green Star’ and the multi-flowered ‘Chameleon’. I also dip into old favourites, such as Tulipa ‘Havran’, ‘Mystic van Eijk’ and ‘Menton’ from the Triumph, Darwin Hybrid and Single Late divisions (3, 4 and 5 respectively).
I fill large containers of around 75cm in diameter with four or five varieties in a single layer, often 75-80 bulbs per pot, using a peat-free medium with plenty of horticultural sand for drainage. They are given a weekly organic seaweed feedonce a bud appears at the base in spring. I deadhead straight after flowering has finished, with a final feed to follow.
Replant around the garden after flowering
The bulbs are lifted from the pots a few weeks after flowering, dried out over the summer and planted out in November in the rougher parts of the garden, where occasional supplementation ensures a strong display. I still deadhead them when planted out like this, to prevent tulip fire.
The verges of the back drive at Blacklands (above) are filled with tulips recycled from containers. I started off with a rough colour scheme, but over the years it has become a case of survival of the fittest. Some cultivars dwindle, others form clumps, and occasionally I fill gaps with new bulbs. It’s important to pick up fallen petals and deadhead regularly to prevent Botrytis tulipae, the dreaded tulip fire, from taking hold. During the flowering season, we fence the verges overnight with an electric wire to keep deer off. The naturalised tulips in this verge include ‘Menton’, ‘Purissima’, ‘Mystic van Eijk’, ‘Merlot’, ‘Lasting Love’, ‘Request’ and ‘Apricot Beauty’. The dolly tubs contain bulbs that were left over at the end of last year’s planting period and have been thrown together, including ‘Gudoshnik Double’, ‘Copper Image’ and ‘Dream Touch’.
Grow species tulips
Species tulips and their hybrids (Miscellaneous, division 15) are the most sustainable types to grow, since they have evolved to endure. They have the added benefit of extending the tulip-flowering period by several weeks at either end of the season. The earliest, such as T. orphanidea Whittallii Group, start flowering in March, and the last to bloom, T. aximensis and T. sprengeri, continue into June.
I trial varieties that are new to me in pots, and they then work their way into herbaceous beds and naturalised plantings in grass or gravel. Colonies soon establish by stolon or seed and demand little or no attention from me.
I like the simplicity of a single species in each pot or planting. A huge rubble-filled stone trough is awash with Tulip saxatilis Bakeri Group ‘Lilac Wonder’, a large-flowered species tulip that has mauve petals and a yellow centre. Throughout spring the garden is dotted with pots of undemanding clusiana hybrids, including ‘Lady Jane’, ‘Annika’ and ‘Taco’. I also look out for Kaufmanniana Group (division 12) and Greigii Group (division 14) cultivars such as T. ‘Ice Stick’ and ‘Quebec’.
Grow historic tulips
While species tulips are the most naturally sustainable of my tulips, those in the historic collection registered with Plant Heritage are the most important in the garden; their breeding, age and rarity add a reverence to the landscape.
This display in the Twig House showcases some of the historic tulips in our National Collection. Most are English Florists’ Tulips, which are distributed as bulbs to members of the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society. Founded in 1836, the society holds an annual show in May, when members are encouraged to place their prize blooms on the show bench.
The oldest cultivar in my collection, the diminutive ‘Duc van Tol Red and Yellow’, dates from 1595, and although it clearly has strong genes, it has ultimately survived through careful husbandry.
Both parts of the collection, the Dutch historics and English Florists’ Tulips, demand great care and attention to survive year upon year. I plant the bulbs in early winter in open beds and pots, and feed, water and protect them.
The bulbs are harvested in July, then checked, stored, cleaned, catalogued, checked again and replanted in accordance with Soil Association organic standards. The upkeep is not for the faint-hearted, but the existence of these endangered jewels from the past more than justifies the effort.
Four sustainable tulip pot combinations from Polly Nicholson
Purple, pink and orange
A large terracotta pot stands sentinel at the entrance to the greenhouse in my Arne Maynard-designed walled garden at Blacklands. As a nod to the ‘broken’ (flamed and feathered) tulips in my National Collection, I selected Tulipa ‘Rems Favourite’, a Triumph tulip. I then chose a range of pink, orange and black cultivars for their contrasting forms and ability to survive in the wild after their initial year in captivity. ©Jason Ingram
PLANTS
Tulip ‘Rems Favourite’ A Triumph tulip that is ivory white, feathered with brushstrokes of beetroot. 50cm.
Tulip ‘Continental’ A recent introduction, this Triumph tulip has dark-maroon, cup-shaped flowers and a dark stem. 40cm.
Tulip ‘Cairo’ A compact Triumph tulip that has glowing orange, cup-shaped blooms. 40-45cm.
Tulip ‘Gabriella’ A Triumph tulip with pointed petals and soft-pink flowers that are flushed deeper pink at the centre. 45cm.
Tulip ‘Request’ A Triumph tulip with pointed petals in tones of orange, bronze and pink. 50cm.
Hardiness ratings: All RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b†.
White and yellow
I always trial species tulips in containers before releasing them into naturalised garden plantings, but some are so bewitching that they stay in the confines of a terracotta pot, to be admired in a quiet corner of the garden. Tulipa cretica ‘Hilde’, with its delicate star-shaped flowers, is one such example, whereas Tulip tarda, the late or tardy tulip, is now happily colonising the gravel beneath an old apple tree.
PLANTS
Tulip cretica ‘Hilde’ A strain of the Cretan tulip (Tulipa cretica). The pink-flushed, white, star-shaped flowers have darker pink stripes and tips as they age, with a yellow centre. Produces up to three star-shaped flowers per stem. 20cm.
Tulip tarda Bears yellow flowers with white tips. 15cm. AGM.
Hardiness ratings: Both RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.
Yellow, white and green
Sometimes the best combinations are arrived at by happenstance. The Viridiflora and Lily-flowered tulips in this display were originally supposed to create a vibrant pink, green and white colour scheme, but ‘Florijn Chic’ was supplied instead of ‘Virichic’. I added ‘Chameleon’ to the mix and the result was a pleasingly tonal blend of butter-yellow, green, cream and white. The spidery petals of ‘Greenstar’ and the multi-headed exuberance of ‘Chameleon’ provide texture and interest. ©Jason Ingram
PLANTS
Tulip ‘Florijn Chic’ An elegant, Lily-flowered tulip with creamy-white and primrose-yellow colouring and pointed petals. 45cm.
Tulip ‘Spring Green’ An elegant Viridiflora with pale-cream petals and a central green flare. Reliably perennial. 40cm. AGM*.
Tulip ‘Chameleon’ A multi-flowered Viridiflora. As the name suggests, the lemon-yellow
petals with a green stripe through the centre change colour and turn pink at the edges as they age. 40cm.
Tulip ‘Greenstar’ A Lily-flowered tulip. The star-like flowers have white petals with
a green stripe. 50cm. AGM.
Hardiness ratings: All RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.
Purple and pink
In this corner by the old potting shed, a palette of natural materials – including cobblestone setts, handmade bricks and an iron bench – is complemented by a low antique stone planter filled with a mix of seven different tulip cultivars from the Triumph, Single Late, Lily-flowered and Viridiflora divisions. All have been tried and tested for repeat flowering. Nestled at the base of the planter are self-sowers from a nearby herbaceous bed, including Oenothera.
PLANTS
Tulip ‘Continental’ A Triumph tulip with dark-maroon, cup-shaped flowers and a dark stem. 40cm.
Tulip ‘Menton’ Pink-apricot blooms on tall, sturdy stems. 70cm. AGM.
Tulip ‘Spring Green’ Reliably perennial Viridiflora with pale-cream petals and a central green flare. 40cm. AGM.
Tulip ‘Très Chic’ Beautiful, pure-white, Lily-flowered tulip. 40cm.
Tulip ‘Queen of Night’ A Single Late Group tulip with glossy, deep-purple flowers. 60cm.
Tulip ‘Jimmy’ A Triumph tulip with vibrant orange petals that are flared with deep pink. 40cm.
Tulip ‘Virichic’ Viridflora with bright-pink petals with a light-green flame. 45cm.
Hardiness ratings: All RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.
USEFUL INFORMATION
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