By John Warrrington
How time goes by. Looking at my diary written in early June 1974 I note that I was then embroiled in selecting and ordering several hundred thousand tulips from Holland for the spring tulip display at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in 1975. The planting of this display was due to start in late October 1974, just twelve weeks later and before winter started. I remember very well the intense activity involved in the planning and the planting of these displays. The bedding displays (nothing to do with sleeping partners or sleeping gardeners) throughout the year involved deciding just what was going to be grown for the following spring; what tulips would be brought in from Holland and what plants we had to grow at Kew to act as ground cover. Planting of the ground cover plants is done in October, which is a good month with warm days and chilly nights. At this time the main summer displays generally have a month or so’s life in them, but they have to be dug out, the ground forked and then trodden down and raked to a perfect level, after which are planted several thousand ground cover plants followed by the planting of many thousands of tulips. This cycle has gone on for hundreds of years and the whole operation is completed in about three weeks. As I said at the beginning of this piece, the bulbs are planted in late October and early November after the ground cover of winter flowering daisies, wallflowers and winter flowering pansies and fennel have been planted, which will give interest to the beds during winter and spring when the tulips start to show colour, and which will complement them. Actually after the tulips arrive in August they are checked continuously until planting in November.
I saw a programme on American television a few months ago dealing with planting bulbs in window boxes. The presenter prepared everything properly, planted the tulips first, possibly ruining many of them once the ground cover plants are put in, because the bulbs could not be located accurately and a good number of bulbs may well have been damaged! The ground cover is always planted first, followed by the bulbs. I have a note here that it took three weeks to clear, dig over and prepare, and then plant the 1975 spring display, and I don’t suppose it’s altered all that much since. It will still be a fairly frantic time of the year and many will believe it’s quite a hard way to earn a crust.
I have been asked many times whether tulips will grow here in Guyana. When you buy a tulip bulb it has everything in it, and the flower is already formed. In temperate climates they grow without heat, but sometimes they are forced into growth for use in the glasshouse or home. So I suppose the safest answer to give anyone is that they might be grown for the first year but not grown normally after that. If you have a favourite aunt or uncle you might get them to send you some bulbs to try, but don’t be surprised if they don’t grow after the first year.
Meanwhile the rains still come down and we still have to care for our lawns. Carry on using your fork to improve the drainage, especially as the rains begin to decrease. Take care and may your God go with you.
