Thursday, May 7, 2015

Tulipmania

Can you imagine, between 1624 and 1637, that something we moderns call "tulipmania" swept the Netherlands.  Fortunes were made and lost using tulip bulbs as investments.

It is estimated that, at the peak of tulipmania, an average tulip bulb cost more than what a typical skilled tradesman made in an entire year.

Then, the bubble burst, and we were left with tulips for beauty instead of tulips as financial instruments.Fortunately, we don't have to go bankrupt to own a tulip - we just need to own a small piece of land, and live in an appropriate climate.  And, can keep the squirrels or some other animals from eating them.

If you look at some of these tulip pictures, imagine each of these flowers costing a fortune.  These pictures were all taken this past week - some yesterday.
Red.
Orange.

Tulips I posted yesterday, and I am going to post again, because I love them so much.
Pink and white tulips (bottom of photo - daffodils on top).

Let's see, at $48,000 each, we would have a lot of rich gardeners out there.

Tulip flowers - priceless.

What is your favorite flower?
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6 comments:

  1. UnknownMay 7, 2015 at 11:14 AM

    What a fascination story about the tulip, I had no idea! I love that you can plant a tulip bulb and enjoy the rewards for years to come.
    Kimberly
    http://FiftyJewels.com

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  2. Liz A.May 7, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    I had heard about the tulip craze. Fascinating what people will "invest" in. Beanie Babies comes to mind.

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  3. Dr. K. Lee BanksMay 7, 2015 at 2:25 PM

    Oh my goodness, those are gorgeous! And what a neat little piece of trivia, about the value of tulip bulbs, once upon a time!

    I've always loved roses, but other favorites are morning glories because I love blue flowers and they're so rare - AND pansies - just love that they look like little faces!

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  4. joangogreenlivegreenMay 7, 2015 at 2:36 PM

    Hi Alana,
    Loved this post on Tulipmania!! Beautiful pics :) Thanks so much for sharing this information!! Learned something today! Thank you!!

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  5. Francene StanleyMay 8, 2015 at 5:57 AM

    One of my favorite stories on the radio in the 1940s was 'The Black Tulip'. All about adventure, thievery and intrigue--and the rare 'black' flower one bulb produced. Tulips are soooo beautiful.

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  6. DeniseMay 8, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    In 1973 my husband and I went to Holland, MI for the Tulip Festival. We ordered 200 bulbs to be delivered in the fall for planting. Spring of 1974 came and only a handful of bulbs popped up. We dug up the beds to find that there was nothing there. As a new gardener I had no idea that squirrels and mice and other rodents dig these up and eat them to survive the winter. Now, I plant daffodils. No one likes to eat them.

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