If the Dutch are famous for growing and knowing everything about tulips – the Swedes are known to be the people buying most tulips in the world. A fact confirmed by statistics.  Right now I am part of all those crazy Swedes, with my mind only tuned in on tulips, tulips, tulips.

I see tulips  – and only tulips – everywhere. And buy them. And arrange them in different groups depending on color, form, size, state of ripeness.

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I let the tulips stay in the vase, when the decay is setting in. There is a beauty in the changing of color, in the petals falling off and leaving only the pistils on the stem.

 

 

 

 

And of course do crazy things like hanging them upside down outside, with the bulbs still there! It was an experiment. It was winter and freezing cold outside, and I let the tulip with its bulb hang from the bird feeder. That was one month ago, and it has met wind, snow, ice – and is still alive. Seems like the bud is waiting for spring, because it has not yet started to blossom. So yesterday I bought some company for this courageous flower – six different kinds of tulips, all attached to their bulbs .

 

 

 

 

 

And of course I am waiting with eagerness to see the tulips in my “A heart for the world”, showing themselves. But that will take some weeks still, before they are peeking up through the soil in the garden. If you are interested, go to the post called “A heart for the world” and read more about how I made a huge heart flowering bed in the garden.