April 10, 2012 -- Annelinde tulip

I picked this tulip because I wanted to combine it in an arrangement with sweet William. Doing that, I thought, would help remind to plant this particular tulip nearer my sweet William next year. But when I brought both flowers inside, I liked the little tulip (Annelinde) better with white moneyplant than with sweet William, which seemed to overpower it. Such lessons are more simply learned through arranging than through gardening!

The other helpful thing this arrangement did for me was make me look up the name of the tulip in the Brent and Becky's Bulbs catalog. I had wondered why they sent their fall catalog out so early, and now I know why: people like me are looking up the things they ordered in previous years to try to remind themselves what the blubs' names are, so they can order them again!

Annelinde is a really short, very late-blooming tulip with variegated foliage.