About Flower Bulbs

When you think of tulips, you automatically think of the Netherlands. Nevertheless, these plants originally came from central Asia. The Turks cultivated these flower bulbs long before the Dutch. But when the first tulip bulbs were planted in the Netherlands at the end of the sixteenth century, it wasn't long before the tulip became famous. Professional growers foresaw a golden future for the plant, and a lively flower bulb trade developed. Tulips were even seen as solid investments, and this led to wild speculation – the time of the tulip craze, also known as tulip mania. Things got so out of hand that the government had to intervene. When this happened, the market in tulip trading collapsed within 24 hours.

And it's not just the tulip that has come to the Netherlands from so far away. This is true of most of the bulbous plants cultivated here. Dahlias came from Mexico and the amaryllis (Hippeastrum) from South America . Freesias and calla lilies (Zantedeschia) originated in South Africa . But it was here in the Netherlands , with its fine climate and highly accomplished professionals, that flower bulb production developed into such an important industry. It was here that more and more new varieties with new forms and colours have been – and are still being - developed. A good example of this drive for innovation involved the attempts by Dutch growers to produce a truly black tulip. And with ‘Queen of Night' and ‘Black Parrot', they came very close to their goal.