This has certainly been one of the more rewarding projects during my horticultural career!  To take a planting plan drawn 80 years ago and to try to recreate it as closely as possible certainly comes with its difficulties. But now, as I watch each tulip come into bloom and reveal its unique color and shape, the reward is realized.

Many of the older Tulip varieties are no longer available in the trade. In that case, should one try to match the original color, such as the infamous ‘Tokay’ wine-colored tulip? Or should one try to match the flower type, such as Lily-flowered, single, or Peony- flowered? This decision-making process made me consider what Edith and Elizabeth would have seen in catalogs and flower magazines of the day.

Elizabeth and Edith knew the Gaiety Hollow garden so well, and in the late 1930’s were doing some of their best work to present it. My next few blog posts will document this important effort. Of course, I want to thank all the volunteers who put in the hard effort of planting hundreds of bulbs, tracking down antique flower bulb catalogs on eBay, assisting in archive research and all the other tasks that went in to making this unique garden project what it is.

Sunny and warm in the forecast with no rain in sight!

Cheers,

Mark