El Nino Tulips © 2013 Patty Hankins
Tulips are one of my favorite flowers. I’ve always loved seeing all the colors and shapes in the gardens when they bloom. And I’m not the only one who loves them – tulips are frequently ranked among the 10 most popular flowers in America.
Tulips are incredibly popular worldwide. They are native to an area ranging from southern Europe to China – primarily in the Middle East. Commercial cultivation of tulips began in the Ottoman Empire. By the late 1500s, tulips were being planted in botanical gardens in Europe. In the early 1600s, tulips were coveted as a luxury good in parts of Europe, where many new varieties were cultivated. In 1636-1637, Tulipmania took hold in the Netherlands – where a newly developed futures market in tulip bulbs caused prices to skyrocket. In early 1637, the market crashed resulting in people holding contracts on tulip bulbs worth far less than they had paid for them. The crash of 1637 didn’t stop the Dutch tulip industry. Today over 9 million tulip bulbs a year are produced in the Netherlands.
In early May, I visited a local garden with a spectacular tulip display. The El Nino tulips were among my favorites this year. I loved all the colors in them – reds, yellows, oranges, pinks – and the fact the no two were the same. As I saw them growing in the garden, I knew that I had to photograph them – and that I’d be presenting the photograph as a panoramic image – highlighting all the wonderful colors in these amazing tulips.
El Nino Tulips is my June 2013 Photo of the month. It is available on my website in two sizes of gallery-wrapped canvases – 8" X 18" and 14" X 30". Until June 30, SAVE 20% on my El Nino Tulips photo.