Tip-toe Through the Tulips

Last Friday was a beautiful day in Oregon so we slipped out of the office and headed to OAN member Wooden Shoe Bulb Company and the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. Spring bulbs turn stress and doom and gloom into smiles; it was a perfect way to end the week. With thousands of colorful tulips in the fields, there were smiles and laughter in abundance. I wanted to share a few of my blooming favorites with you. For best selection, download a catalog and order your bulbs now for fall planting.

Burning Heart – A white Darwin Hybrid with touches of red and yellow blooming mid-late spring. Grows to about 18 inches. (Not sold in this year’s Wooden Shoe catalog.)

Daydream – A Darwin Hybrid blooming mid-spring. Opens yellow and turns orange as flowers mature. Introduced in 1980. Grows to 20 inches.

Inzell – The catalog description describes the color as ivory-white but it looked like a brilliant white to me. A Triumph tulip that blooms mid-spring. Grows to 16 inches.

Jimmy – This was my favorite massed in the field. It’s a rose color edged in orange. Introduced in 1962, it grows 12-18 inches tall. A Triumph Tulip blooming mid-spring. [Jimmy-tulip photo credit: Courtesy of Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm]

New Design – A soft pink and cream Triumph Tulip with cream-edged leaves. Introduced in 1974, grows 12-18 inches and blooms in mid-season.

Orange Favourite – A fragrant Parrot Tulip with curled and serrated orange petals with a touch of green and yellow. This bulb was introduced in 1930, grows to 20-24 inches and blooms mid-late spring.

Prinses Irene – This orange with purple flame Triumph Tulip is stunning. It was introduced in 1949 and grows to 14 inches.

Pretty Woman – A Lily-Flowered Tulip, it is fire engine red, blooms mid-season and grows to about 16 inches.