Tulips first appeared in Europe in the 16^th Century having been traded on the famous Silk Road. This was an ancient trading route that initially stretched from China through Asia and Afghanistan to Rome and its empire.

After the collapse of the Roman empire, parts of the route were all but abandoned due the dangers encountered when travelling there.

In the 13^th and 14^th Century the road was revived by the Mongols and trading resumed in earnest. Marco Polo also used the road to travel from Venice to China. Few other people travelled the entirety of the road, but producers bought silk, spices and pottery from their countries of origin and traded along the route. Unfortunately, it is believed that the movement of goods along the Silk Road also allowed the 14^th Century pandemic of the Black Death to spread west from Asia.

First recorded as being cultivated during the Ottoman empire, most modern Tulips are thought to be descendants of the wild flower Tulipa suaveolens which is red. Sultan Selim 2^nd was so enamoured with these, he was said to have had 30.000 bulbs planted in the gardens of his palace. Images of these flowers appear throughout the Ottoman Empire, adorning pottery, carvings and textiles. It is also at this time that selective breeding was started.

In the 1590s the plant arrived in Holland, where it was planted in the University of Laden’s garden, itself a leader of botanical excellence and innovation. Upon discovering that the plant not only survived but thrived in the harsh northern European climate, the plants quickly gained in popularity amongst the wealthy and privileged in Dutch society. Tulips gave an air of exoticism to those that owned them.

Quickly becoming a luxurious status symbol, the Tulip had arrived.

Rarest and therefore most sought after were the “Bizzares, "Roses" and “Bijbloemens”” which had striped or bi-coloured flowers. At the time botanists were unaware that these changes had been caused by a virus similar to Mosaic Virus which caused the colour to break in the petals. As a result of this infection, unique and beautiful patterns and variations began to appear but also weakened the plant making it unable to produce as many new bulbs and giving rise to smaller and weaker flowers, eventually dying off completely.

However, these new and fantastic variations were all the rage and it was said that any man of wealth and privilege that did not own a collection of these plants would lose status in society.

Each time a new and beautiful cultivar appeared, the race to acquire it would quickly become frenzied and many people, seeing that a quick profit could be made, started trading as bulb importers or placing huge orders for next years bulbs based on the flowering of the current year. Some of the rarest bulbs were said to have changed hands for a price that would be the equivalent of buying a mansion in Amsterdam.

However, due to the diminishing return from the infected plants, the promised numbers of bulbs did not materialise, making the few that did arrive even more expensive. Eventually the market collapsed as traders refused to pay the ridiculous prices required for a plant that flowered for about a week. Fortunes were lost in much the same way as modern investors can loose out in stock market crashes. Though the worst of the losses were thought to be incurred mostly by a small group of the Dutch elite.

The entire episode is now associated with the term “Bulb Mania” and is today used to describe the greed and folly of speculating heavily on unproven futures in the stock markets.

Not all was lost and the Dutch have become great breeders, growers and suppliers of tulips to the rest of the world, Virus-free hybrids commonly known as "Rembrant Tuilps" are produced to approximate the beauty of those early "broken" tulips without the danger of infection. The industry is responsible for 10% of the gross domestic product of the Netherlands.

Our selection of Tulips and other Spring bulbs are available on the nursery for £3.00 per bag or 5 for the price of 4.