I received a free pack of 25 tulips with some plants I ordered last autumn; as a mixture, I didn’t want to put them in a pot or a border, so planted them in one of the cutting beds where I could easily dig them out after flowering. They have begun opening in the sunshine of the last 2 days and, far from being the completely random mix shown in the original illustration, it looks as if there are only two varieties, some with a white-edged leaf that haven’t yet opened and the others this rich carmine red variety, flushed with white.
Tulips bring with them so much joy, not just because of their bright and confident presence in the garden but for their impact and longevity in vases. Today, seven stems were snipped and cut down to pop in this chicken mug (a recent Aldi purchase, for spring vases), held in place with little pebbles and paired with vintage Easter egg moulds as a nod to the season.
As the effects of winter recede in the northern hemisphere, we find ourselves enjoying a wider range of plants in our gardens and a greater variety of material to pick to put in our Monday vases. Will you be joining us today with April blooms and foliage? Just leave the usual links to and from this post if you do.
ps don’t forget to let me know if you want to join our virtual get-together on Sunday 16th April if you haven’t already done so.
Rambling in the Garden 
Those petals are a wonder when you look closely.
And not as pink as they look in the photo!
Hope you are having a Happy Easter weekend. 🙂
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They are very pretty and everything a tulip should be… such a nice shape as well as colour. I wonder if you have ever made anything in those moulds Cathy? Hope you are enjoying some nice Easter weekend weather. Here is my vase for today. Thanks as always!
Yes, they are certainly very neat and iniform tulips – and no, I haven’t tried using the moulds as they are metal and I am not sure how hygenic they would be after all these years… 😉 Great gardening weather here for the last few days but we have had a showery morning today – so I caught up on inside jobs instead
I absolutely adore those tulips. And that cute chick vase. We are really warming up this week so the garden should explode although still not many bulbs in my small garden. But I cherish each one. Perhaps next time I can join your virtual get-together. Sounds like fun. Here’s my vase for the week https://gardenseyeview.com/2023/04/10/in-a-vase-on-monday-hallelujah/
It really is a joy to have tulips to pick again, and I hope you have plenty of flowering bulbs yourself in due course. It is not too late to join us on the 16th if you are able to come – just let me know
I wish I could come on Sunday. So will look forward to the next time.
Keep a look out, Donna – it will probably be mid to late summer
The little prop of Easter egg mould is so cute, and how nice to find such beautiful tulips when you didn’t know exactly what they would be like. Happy Easter and looking forward to our ‘reunion’ next weekend. Happy Easter to all the IVOMers: here is my vase. https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2023/04/in-vase-on-easter-monday.html
These seasonal mugs are really cheap, and I now have ones for Halloween, Christmas and Easter. I didn’t know whether to cut the stems down even shorter than I did, but it would be too late if they didn’t look right, so I stopped before I went too far!
Spring in a vase. I love tulips – but I cannot imagine the hoops I would have to jump through to grow them here. Are you going to leave them in the garden? I think you get better things to buy at Aldi in the UK. The colors in my vase are very similar to yours today. https://theshrubqueen.com/2023/04/10/in-a-vase-on-monday-delicate-dianthus/
No, I shall lift them after they have finished, or after I have cut them more likely. I generally treat my tulips as annuals as they tend to be disappointingly unreliable at returning
I would think that they would return there. Oh well. I think it was worth it!
What a chirpy little chick and the tulips are a such a beautiful warm shade. An excellent freebie Cathy. As you know I have a love/hate relationship with tulips but was delighted to see ‘Ballerina’ open on Saturday. Looking forward to the virtual get together 😀 My vase is here : https://greentapestry.blogspot.com/2023/04/iavom-my-cup-runneth-over.html
I suppose I would always choose to be selective about my tulips (unless they are free) but it is definitely a positive relationship I have with them – ever since I saw massed planting of pastel shades at Lord Leycerster’s Hospital in Warwick some years ago, and in an instant my feelings about tulips changed!!
I once got a similar free gift and planted them in my zinc container, not expecting to like the mixed colours, but I was very pleasantly surprised. These are rather lovely.
I wasn’t going to turn them down but wasn’t all sure how I would use them if they were all very different from each other – and one of the resons why they were tucked away in the cutting beds and not in pots nearer the house! I will be interested to see what the other variety is…
The tulips are so lovely Cathy. Nice to get free gifts with orders–they’re very special. Love the vintage egg mold. Wasn’t sure I could pull it off today but I’ve managed a quick vase. https://pbmgarden.blog/2023/04/10/in-a-vase-on-monday-spring-intention/
I probably had to spend over a certain amount, I think, which I was doing anyway. Glad you were able to join us today
The tulips and the cute little mug make a cheerful display, all the more appreciated this morning as we woke to a fire in our neighborhood early this morning. The fire is reportedly out and most of the dozen-plus emergency vehicles have gone but I’m still jittery. Luckily, my post was already in the can: https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2023/04/in-vase-on-monday-lot-to-choose-from.html
Love your pretty tulips. Sad to say i don’t have any this year but just might manage to next year.
Make a note of it now, Beverly, before you forget!! As long as it is not too wet for tulips for you? I believe that’s why they are not reliably perennial here
Perennials….yes they are better for those of us aging way too fast.
Haha, indeed!
Because white is my favorite color, and I have difficulty selecting other colors, the prettiest flowers in my garden were selected by neighbors or gifts that I did not select. Even for those who are proficient with color, unknown colors are fun.
Hmm, they could be…but then again, they might not!
An advantage of lacking proficiency with selection of color is that if a color is . . . less than ideal, I do not know about it.
Nothing like a bag of free bulbs, assuming there is someplace to tuck the surprise colours! These are lovely, and I’m glad you could use them for such a cheerful vase with your very cheerful little chick!
I have a love/fear relationship with tulips as I’ve lost so many blooms to rabbits over the years, but once I get good plantings of inedible narcissus going, I mean to add some of the species tulips here–the clusianas and others that don’t need winter chill. Then I’ll keep my fingers crossed or else cage the plants…
I do have a vase this week: https://smallsunnygarden.substack.com/p/garden-fragrance-and-fireworks
What a shame about your rabbits – well your tulips I mean! The species ones are much more reliable here but I have no idea if rabbits would be partial to them!
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https://gardeningnirvana.com/2023/04/10/in-a-vase-on-monday-one-becomes-two/ Cathy, thank you for motivating me to keep at this.
Your tulips are a charming addition to that mug, OR that mug is perfect for your blooms. Either way, nicely done.
Aw thanks, I have a few of these ‘seasonal’ mugs now, ready to use as vases at the appropiate time of year!
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Hi everyone, looking forward to taking a look at everyone’s posts when I get a minute (if that ever happens…) in the meantime, happy Monday to you all, thanks for hosting Cathy, and here’s my post for this IAVOM! https://notesfromtheundergardener.wordpress.com/2023/04/11/in-a-vase-on-monday-11th-april-2023/
Busy busy!
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What a perfect Easter arrangement! You have the most delightful collection of vases and vase-like vessels, Cathy! Our weather is finally such that I can put together vases again. My vase for this week is included in this post: https://cosmosandcleome.wordpress.com/2023/04/11/six-for-easter/
Aw thanks Kimberley – and welcome back to IAVOM!
My tulips are about an inch high right now, but with plenty of sunshine and unseasonally warm temperatures I imagine buds and blooms will come along soon! Love the colours of both flowers and mug!
Thanks Chris – as you say, your tulips will quickly respond to warmth and light