A recent visit to Pike Place Market flower vendors showed that tulips stll are showing strong. A few irises and peonies have arrived, but tulips still rule the roost. For awhile, anyway. I think they are ravishing and can’t get enough.

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These lilacs were growing in a neighbor’s front yard on a recent walk. The sky was quite gray and overcast but the magic of a digital camera gave me an exposure that’s almost sunshiny. On the same walk, another neighbor’s Blushing Lady tulips really made me envious. Last year I had some Blushing Lady tulips that were the stars of my spring garden, with huge, almost 6″ blossoms on stems almost a yard (meter) tall. This year they totally failed to come back, where other tulips happily multiplied. But at least my neighbor has had success with them. Aren’t they pretty?

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Saw these tulips the other day at Pike Place Market in Seattle. The displays were mind-bogglingly beautiful. I love, love, love this photo and have tagged it Best Post of the Week.

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I bought this bouquet of a dozen tulips and daffodils, EACH, at Pike Place Market. I was surprised to see the tulips open into this starry shape. The bouquet even had lilacs in it!

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Here’s another view of the tulip fields taken at the Skagit Valley Tulip festival recently. See the teensy people in the distance?

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The top photo shows the tulips around the rosebed in front of the house, with our neighbor’s house behind them. It was a good idea to plant them there as the roses haven’t got going yet. This year the roses will be early and have set buds already, at least some of them.

The next one is taken from near that neighbor’s house, looking towards the side and backyard of our house, showing that big old cedar tree. Don’t those old rhodies look good? If they had fragrance I’d love them even more.

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This is one of the 150 or 200 tulips we planted in our garden last fall, photographed the other day after the soft rain stopped. I totally love them.

They take a lot of work to plant, you know. In the fall in a spot with excellent drainage, you have to dig quite deep, a good foot. Fill back half way, improve the soil with compost and a couple of handfuls of bone meal, then place the bulbs (a few inches apart) on that, about six inches from the top surface, pointed end up. Fill the hole with more good soil, and wait eagerly for spring.

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This display of tulips outside of Roozengaarde in the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival was the ultimate for me. I just couldn’t get over it. The enormous planting outside their gate was filled with the most spectacular displays of tulips I ever saw. Yes, the $4 admission to the totally magnificent displays inside was well worth the money, but this group of brilliant colors was the most amazing sight of the whole day, for me.

Photo note: For some reason, the technology of reproducing flower color isn’t always perfect, especially blue/purple tones. These purple tulips were the purest true purple in the world, but they look a little mauve-y or magenta here. Sorry, I tried.

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I have been tulip happy lately and I hope you aren’t tired of them yet. This is yet another Skagit Valley tulip for your enjoyment.

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This one gets my vote for Best Post of the Week, too.

These were taken by my sister when we visited the tulip festival last week. I think hers are pretty wonderful. I wish I took that top one!

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This one below is of me.