A tip-toe through the tulip mania, and a sly pry into the surprising life of Constance Spry…
As Bexley blooms beautifully, dear readers, my thoughts always turn to tulips at this time of year…don’t yours? What is it about tulips that so uplifts our spirits, fuels our passions, and yet – ultimately - drives us slightly tulip-loopy?... They promise so much: they unfurl seductively: they glow with gaudy colours: and then, before you can say `Jack Robinson`, the blooming things shrivel up and wilt. Tsk! Such a shame…Such a waste! It’s enough to drive a Dutchman daft!
I suspect that dear old Constance Spry would’ve known what to do with a tulip…she seemed to have the answer to everything, in fact… (she masterminded the young Queen’s floristry, educated a nation, led a full and flowery life, and – allegedly – invented `Coronation Chicken’). What a lady! What a life! What a book!
(And, by the by, what a splendid book jacket, don’t you think, dear reader? Why can’t Alan Titchmarsh dress more like that?)
Oh well, must dash…Off to tend me tulips! TTFN
3 comments:
Why do tulips drive us loopy? They are so fickle - bloom beautifully one year but maybe not the next - and then, when they do repeat bloom, they might keep the beautiful colour you bought or revert to their natural red!
Thanks, Terri, for those topical tulip tips…
Very thoughtful. (And if you enjoy related reading, then you could try ‘Tulip Fever’ by Debora Moggach, or Alexander Dumas’ ‘Black Tulip’…)
Enjoy!
Thank-you, JR, for emailing me your wonderful tulip photos...
Sorry that I can't share them with you all, dear readers, but take it from me - they're blooming marvellous!
TTFN
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