Tulipa 'Red Riding Hood'
17th April 2011
One of the most reliable Greigii tulips, introduced in 1953. It is one of my favourites because my mother planted them
in a sunny bed at the front of the house. They seemed to mark an abrupt change from winter to summer. The pointed
red buds appeared to challenge the cold and then burst in glowing colour. After a couple of weeks the blooms open
beyond the point of recovery, the petals flag in the heat of summer and the stems brown into the first of the season's
tatty straw.
I plant a few every now and then, hoping to find a place where they will be equally happy and make myself happy in the process.