Courageous Color

Strong colors are what spring is all about, and The Colorblends Spring Garden is filled with the zing of spring in its full spectrum. The Garden is a flamboyant festival of yellow and orange narcissus Jetfire sprinkled with a confetti of red Amazon tulips.

Behind The House, sailor blue Grape Hyacinths have formed a sea of azure waves, flooding the ground in color.

Daffodils are still blooming at The Garden, but the earliest tulips are stepping in to expand the sweep. If you looked at tulips and saw only primary hues before, look again. Tulips are stretching their paintbox. Fashionistas, artists, and everyone else: You are going to love the new rainbow.

Tulips with a Twist

When visitors come to The Garden, they are awed. It’s only natural to see that grand slam of color as one huge smorgasbord, but I suggest you take a closer look. When you really zoom in to focus on individual tulips, you are going to discover details that will spark your inner designer.

Some of the earliest species tulips on the scene are planted in a long, raised stone bed near the sidewalk where they can mingle with the slender, dainty narcissus. The last of the multi-flowered  Turkestanica wild tulips are still brandishing their buttery yellow stars in dense clusters, but just blooming now are the ground-hugging Tarda with similar shades of yellow and soft white. Take a moment to look closely and discover the streaked etchings in the flowers. Each one is a study in intricacy.

Spinning the Color Wheel

Behind the stone wall, beds of tulip favorites are beginning to put on their show. This year, the unique early-flowering Constantinople is brandishing brilliant red blossoms topped by unique pointed tips, like inverted stilettos. From afar, they’re striking. But zero in. The colors are nuanced with flaming scarlet merging into cranberry and then edged with a fiery yellow pencil line hem.

Planted nearby is Red Purissima. This early rich-red tulip has eggplant purple streaks in its petals, with a striking yellow base adding dimension and interest. In another block, the raspberry buds of Sanne tulips with their ballet slipper pink edging have begun to unfurl. And The Garden hasn’t even peaked yet! Good reason to make multiple visits.

 

About the Author

Author, garden writer, lecturer, blogger, and photographer Tovah Martin has spent decades working with and writing about bulbs. An honorary member of the Garden Club of America, her most recent book, The Garden in Every Sense and Season, was awarded the Gold Medal from GardenComm. A fanatical hands-on organic gardener outdoors and inside, she digs into Furthermore, her own 7-acre Connecticut farmstead.