Tulips
Still Life with Flowers, Rachel Ruysch, 1750s, oil on canvas, Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm
A digression
My wife and I are passionate about tulips — whether in the paintings of Rachel Ruysch or Ambrosius Bosschaert, on Dutch and Iznik ceramics, Ottoman fabrics or, most importantly, in the garden.
We grow Dutch Historic (Absalon, Insulinde) and Lily-flowered tulips (Istanbul, Marilyn, Ballerina, Sarah Raven); English florist tulips (Wendy Akers, James Wild, Talisman); Species tulips (Hilde, Hageri, Peppermint Stick); Triumphators (Ronaldo, Couleur Cardinal, Tres Chic); Rembrandts (Zurel, Helmar, Princess Irene); Parrots (Negrita, Estella Rijnveld) and Viridifloras (Artist, Spring Green, Doll’s Minuet, Groenland).
We are very much amateurs — but love putting combinations together, particularly deep red, rich burgundy, velvety maroon and dark orange (Couleur Cardinal, Negrita, Orange van Eyck — or Queen of the Night and Ballerina) sometimes intermingled with gatecrashers like Helmar, Slawa, Gavota or Rem’s Favourite.
We’ve even won a trophy, the John Hardman Memorial Vase, for a display of 18 tulips (Tulipa Marilyn) at the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society Show in May 2026.
It’s a hobby, but when the world is mad and ugly, it’s sometimes good to be reminded of the words of the singer-songwriter Phil Ochs: ‘The only true protest is beauty.’
