Denzil

NPC #7: Tulips and Magnolias

For Nature Photo Challenge No. 7, it’s time to capture your local Tulips and Magnolias

So far in our Nature Photo Challenges we have focused (literally), on Patterns, Eyes, Pink, Ducks, Signs of Spring, and Sharp! One thing I have noticed is that many of us love photographing flowers! And as April (at least in the northern hemisphere) is when Tulips and Magnolias are looking their best, I thought this would make an excellent theme for this week’s challenge. (Our friends in the southern hemisphere may have to search your archives for what you were photographing six months ago!)

So get out into your garden with your camera, lean over your neighbor’s garden, visit a local botanical garden or municipal park, and get snapping those Tulips and Magnolias! Here are a few of my efforts.

Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera 'Chapel Hill')
This combines both our target plants, as the Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Chapel Hill’) is actually in the Magnolia family!
Nature photo challenge #7
Here’s one that has opened up a little.
Magnolia x thompsoniana 'Olmenhof'
Magnolia x thompsoniana ‘Olmenhof’
Nature Photo Challenge no. 7
Various tulips in our garden
Tulips, and their history of cultivation
Photographing tulips
Nature Photo Challenge

The history of tulip cultivation

Before you rush off, camera in hand, here’s a bit of information on tulips…

Tulips are native to central Asia and Turkey, but they became popular in Europe in the 16th century. The first tulips arrived in Western Europe from Turkey in the mid-1500s, and by the 1600s, they were a highly sought-after commodity.

Tulips became particularly popular in the Netherlands, where the Dutch developed a thriving tulip industry. In the 17th century, tulips were so valuable in the Netherlands that they were used as a form of currency, and some single bulbs could be sold for the equivalent of a small fortune.

This period of tulip mania, as it is now known, reached its peak in the winter of 1636-37 when the price of tulip bulbs soared to astronomical levels. However, the tulip market eventually crashed, leaving many investors ruined.

Despite this setback, the Dutch continued to cultivate tulips and became famous for their tulip varieties, which were prized for their unique colors and patterns. Today, the Netherlands remains one of the world’s leading producers of tulips, and tulip cultivation is an important part of the country’s cultural and economic heritage.

#naturephotochallenge

87 comments

  3. It is still too early for tulips and Magnolias here in southern Michigan. Your photos are beautiful and has kindled my anticipation. Not too long – maybe a month.

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  8. Such beautiful photos! And that last one reminds me of some tulips I planted at our last house but they were purple and white, same idea. I’ll have to look into my archives and see if I can find some tulips. I’ll never forget the tulip stand in the Amsterdam airport years ago. I bet it’s still there.

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  9. You have some lovely images here, but this time I shan’t be joining in. Tulips and magnolia are long gone here in this part of Spain (if ever they were here) and I have no access to my archives.

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  21. Your Tulip photos are so good. I didn’t think I would have anything but remembered a holiday a few years ago to Tasmania. Will Australian Tulip fields do instead of Ditch ones?

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  28. I knew that history. I think tulips were their version of the stock market. While it might not have worked as a long term financial solution, we do have some amazing tulips so at least from a gardener’s point of view, it was a winner.

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  29. It’s very difficult to grow tulips here because the winters are just not cold enough. The bulbs need to be kept in the freezer and even then there’s no guarantee of success. I only ever tried once. So I’ll just enjoy all your gorgeous photos.

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