With their beautifully bright cup or star-shaped blooms, it’s no wonder that tulips have become a garden favourite and are widely cultivated. Tulips belong to the lily family and are often sweetly scented, growing from just a few inches high to over two feet tall, with a variety of flower shapes and colours.

There are over one hundred species of tulip and many can be cross-pollinated to create hybrid blooms. Tulips are found from north Africa across to north west China but were introduced to Europe in the 1500s from Turkey. They were highly prized in Holland throughout the 1600s as icons of nobility and abundance, and there are numerous tulip festivals held around the world today.

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