I probably had the best display of tulips and late daffodils this year that I have ever had. The lack of strong westerly winds meant that the tulips stayed upright, with their bold, look-at-me colours standing out. The photo below shows some of the first tulips to appear on the pots on our decking, and there are still daffodils, hyacinths – white and purple – and the smaller blue grape hyacinths. If you look closely, you will see that some of the flower heads are reflected in the glass. A lack of rain meant that the flowers had to be watered frequently to a) stop them drying out and b) encourage the flowers to feed the bulbs for next year’s display. We get many compliments from people walking along the promenade and this is rewarding.
Tulips – scientific name Tulipa – are described on this RHS site as providing ” a splash of spring colour in dazzling shades. Different flower forms add to this variety, with lily-, fringed-, parrot- and peony-flowered forms”. I looked up parrot-flowered tulips here (good photos) and “They got their name because the lobed/serrated margins of their flowers give them a kind of ruffled appearance, which is very similar to the feathers of a parrot”. I must order some for next year. The most unusual of my tulips is shown in the photo below. This tulip head is in contrast to the second flower below, which is smooth, sculpted, curved-lined petals, all joined neatly together, with a whorl-like petal part at the right hand side. The second tulip is what we might think of as a stereotype but, of course, still no more beautiful, elegant and graceful than you would expect. The first tulip is more anarchic, even punk-like, with the petals jutting out at various angles. There is what looks like a pink shell in the middle, with its diverse white and pink lines, while other petals and are more fringed and maybe like a parrot tulip. The photo was taken after a rain shower and you can just see some of the drops on the petals if you look closely.
Tulips are also presented at this time of year by local authority gardeners in regimental formations. In North Berwick (good photos) which is a half-marathon from Dunbar, the gardens abound with tulips. Some people object to the regimentation of the spring flowers in municipal gardens – too strictly organised, too militarised, too organised. Despite these obvious objections, the planted rows of flowers are a welcome sight to locals and visitors alike. The photo below shows the gardens, adorned by Spring flowers, which you see as you enter the town from the east. This is a spectacular turn-out of a variety of plants and bold colours.
Taking a closer look at the tulips, I found this exquisitely shaped, and artistically coloured flower. As you see in the photo below, this particular species not only has surrealist lines and curves but appears to have a drawing on the foremost petal. The way this “drawing” is shaped reminded me of the Burj Kalifa (good photos) in Dubai, the world’s tallest building and it looks as if what is on the petal is a reflection of the sky-seeking tower. This is natural sculpture on display.
I walked from the gardens down to the shore at the West Beach (good photos) in North Berwick. I have featured the beach on the blog a few years ago and I included the photo below. This shows the large metal anchor overlooking the West beach, with the harbour entrance to the left. Immediately to the left of the anchor, you can just see the top of the Bass Rock above the harbourside flats. This is a wide sweep of beach, unusually deserted in the photo, and is a pleasurable walk at all times of the year.
I stopped that day about half way along the right hand side of the photo above and, as it was a calm and serene day, I took this video. It features Philip Larkin’s onomatopoeic lines from his poem To the Sea (full poem).
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