Oh the joy of tulips, especially in gray weather. The one advantage of the rather gloomy April weather is that they will look good for longer – during March I thought spring might all be over in a week. Given the labor intensive nature of ordering them, planting them and protecting them from marauders, it’s good to spend some time revelling in their vibrant colours. Like many gardeners I found that the dry weather in March resulted in stunted stems but most seem to have put on a growth spurt and are now a respectable size, if not quite as tall as usual.