Introduction to Floriography - Read My Tulips

Another week, another opportunity to learn about what that bouquet from you friend REALLY means below the pretty petal-adorned surface. I hope you are all enjoying this series as much as I am, and I’m learning along with you, which as a proud nerd, I relish in.

Before that, a little PSA. A few days ago I did a lil’insta poll on what you’d like from this blog going forward and with the world moving more to a place of the normality we miss - dear lord I miss my couples and my flowers more than anything, and I’m sure I’m not alone! So, with that in mind, I just want to say that my 3 posts a week is going to be a bit unrealistic when I go back to full time work, and so things might be slightly more unpredictable here. My initial plan is to still post more than once per week, and these posts will hopefully fall on a Monday and Thursday morning from next week. They’ll still be live in time for your morning brew, 9am, and they’ll still be a big variety of topics (as you guys were basically split across the main 4 topics I cover, poll-wise).
But just bare with me is all I ask. I, like the rest of the world, might falter a little before I run as I work out this new ‘normal’ full time job/freelance/blog way of life. I can guarantee that I will try my hardest to continue to deliver interesting, creative content, that both I enjoy writing as much as you enjoy reading, and I will not force out posts. I am brimming with ideas, and willing to hear anymore you might have, which brings me nicely to today’s ‘Introduction to Floriography’ post!

It was actually a request to do a single flower focused piece on my Instagram (link at the bottom of the page). Now, I’ve already mentioned these in the ‘I Love You’s post, but today, Tulip’s are taking the limelight all on their own. One of the most beloved flowers all over the world and with over 3000 different varieties, the Tulip is recognisable due to it’s classic shape, and is a household favourite. It’s like your favourite home-cooked meal - familiar, comfy, memorable but still perfect.

Initially being cultivated in Turkey and Persia, where their name came from the Persian name from turban, due to their similarity in shape. Their popularity really bloomed as the Netherlands caught onto the beautiful Tulip in the 16th & 17th century, and they became both a novelty, and fairly expensive. As this value increased, people started using them as currency, even trading acres of land in exchange for bulbs - at one point, they were more valued than gold! Then their value suddenly crashed, and then eventually levelled out again. Even so, the Netherlands are still known for their vast Tulip fields, and even have National Tulip Day in January every year. During this festival, Dam Square is covered in tulips, and members of the public can go and pick their own bouquet to take home with them, to signify the beginning of Tulip season. And nowadays, tulips are easily found in supermarkets, florists and garden centres all over the world.

For the Turks and Persians, the tulip had very deep cultural and religious symbolisms. The Ottoman empire would plant tulip bulbs to remind them of heaven and eternal life. In contrast, the Dutch believe the flower is a representation of how brief life can be. It wasn’t until the 20th or 21st Century that the tulip began to symbolise love. In Victorian times, on the whole, mean ‘perfect love’ and charity, and so have become the flower to represent 11th Wedding Anniversaries. As one of the first flowers to bloom every year, they’ve also become a symbol of rebirth. However, certain colours of tulips can mean something very different to this, and as we’ve seen with other flowers in this series, some of the original Victorian meanings have been altered to fit a more commerically-friendly audience.

RED TULIPS. The hot red tulips are, along with many other red toned flowers, the ones that represent love, and in particular, the everlasting type. This meaning and the overall ‘Perfect Love’ symbolism comes from Turkish and Persian legend about the love between Farhad and Shirin. There are a few variations of this tale, but according to one story, Farhad was a prince. He was in love with a beautiful girl named Shirin who is horrifically murdered, and this (obviously) tears Farhad apart. In desperation, Farhad rides his horse of a cliff, and a red tulip grows where his blood touches the ground — the symbol for perfect love.

YELLOW TULIPS. Another colour where the Tulip variety holds a similar meaning to the Yellow Rose variety, and has changed an immense amount since the Victorian times. If you received these at your door, it usually represented unrequited or spurned love, so if it was the first move, good luck! If it was in response to you making making your intentions clear, then, oh boy, I am sorry, plenty more fish in the sea…. Moving onwards and upwards, with commercialism and advertising favouring yellow tulips, they’ve come to nowadays represent cheerful thoughts and friendship…. or the friend zone? Take them as you will!

PURPLE TULIPS. Got a Mother-In-Law who needs charming? Then purple tulips are the one to make her feel special as they come to mean royalty. They’re the perfect tulips to elevate your cosy flat into a palace-for-one, as well as providing a pop of colour to your life. I particularly love the more lilac version for their versatility, and they go with so much!

WHITE TULIPS. Maybe another for the MIL, or for a scorned friend, white tulips mean forgiveness. They’re also one of the hardier varieties of tulips and so one of the more long lasting, just to keep in the minds of the ones you’ve gifted these too just how wonderful you are.

PINK TULIPS. A less intense ‘love’ version of the red, pink tulips have come to represent happiness and confidence, so a safe one to gift your family, your ‘seeing-each-other-but-not-official’ partner and that friend who’s a total boss babe. If you wanted to really rebuff someone, pair this with the yellow tulip to really make it clear you’ve made up your mind you’re not interested - harsh but fair…?

VARIEGATED TULIPS. For those who don’t know immediately what this variety looks like, I like to think they look like they’ve been individually painted with watercolours, as they are usually a fusion of a couple colours (see photo above). They are also one of those varieties whose meaning hasn’t changed so much since the Victorians first named them, and simple mean ‘beautiful eyes’. How romantic - literal swoon.

FUN FACTS AND HELPFUL TULIP HINTS:
- Tulips are part of the lily family, which also includes garlic, onion and asparagus, and so edible, but not particularly medicinal.
- During World War II there are stories of people eating tulip bulbs, especially during the Dutch famine. According to J.H. Warmerdam, a man who grew up in Holland during WWII, the bulbs gave people skin rashes and were not agreeable. Nowdays, it is not encouraged to eat the bulbs, but the tulips can be digested and are still commonly used in cake decoration.
- Everyone knows the common shape of a tulip, but you can also buy double petalled tulips (which, when open, remind me a little of peonies) and a frilly variety (where the edges look like ruffles). There’s also a Parrot variety, which, as you can guess, look slightly like the beak of a parrot!
- Unlike many flowers, tulips will continue to grow once put in water, but with a pliable stem and heavy blooms, though, tulips are prone to bend and droop as a result of gravity and phototropism, a response that causes the flower to bend towards light.
- The Netherlands is now the world's largest commercial producer of tulips, with around three billion exported each year. They’ve cultivated tulips in every colour, even a variety which is so dark a purple that it can look black - ‘Queen of the Night’.