Tulips: a painters palette of colour

Tulips are a fantastic addition to any garden. With over 150 different varieties they offer one of the most vivid and varied ranges of flower colours. Their versatility also means they work just as well in pots or garden beds so are perfect for adding a splash of colour to any size of garden.

Quick guide to the main tulip types

1. In rockeries and small pots try dwarf tulips that flower in March/April such as Greigii 15-20cm tall red tulips or Kaufmanniana 20-25cm tulips in a range of colours including orange & pink/lilac








2. For a vivid splash of colour from March to May try traditional cup shaped tulips. They vary dramatically in height from from 25-30cm short stemmed varieties such as diana (white) or purple prince to tall 50-60cm varieties such as queen of the night (black) and Apeldoorn (red)
   so make sure you plant them in the right position in the bed.



3. For elegant style, my favourite tulips are more unusual varieties with beautiful shapes such as lily & peony flowering, virdiflora and parrot.
   
   

Lily flowering tulips are the epitome of elegance, 50-60cm high and flowering in April/May. I love Ballerina (orange) shown in this photo.

Virdiflora tulips have an understated green stripe up the centre of each petal. 40-50cm high. The pink, red, yellow and cream flowers bloom in April/May.

The more blousy and ball shaped peony flowered tulips offer a range of colours from 45-60cm high. Try the delicate pink of Angelique.

For great texture try the frilly edged ruffles of parrot tulips. They come in some fabulous rich colours and flower in May (55cm tall)

Colour selection

When picking your tulips, either complementary or contrasting colours work equally well. It just depends on the look you are going for. For example:

Try Red tulips with bronze oranges or contrast with pinky purple or white

Try Orange tulips with creamy yellows or contrast with lime green

Try Yellow tulips with whites or contrast with blue

Try Black tulips with rich reds or purples or contrast with silver or hot pink

Planting for impact

There are no rules for planting tulips but here are four basic ideas to make sure your tulips look great.

1. Blended in small natural drifts under trees or beside grasses and shrubs provides a lovely understated surprise.

2. Plant two contrasting colours of tulips in a long narrow bed or strip.

3. Plant one type of tulip in a shaped bed or block alongside another flower of a contrasting colour. Underplanting works well on tall tulips. Try muscari, wallflower or euphorbia.

4. Create impact in large pots by filling them with either just one colour of tulip or use tulips to add height to the centre or back of a display that combines other complimentary plants.

In my garden

All of these photographs were taken in my garden, but here's a description of the different ways I've been using tulips to create colour and interest.

• Orange lily tulips combined with creamy cheerfulness narcissi and lilac primula in a old copper tank.







• Pink peony tulips combined with anemones, lilac primula and alliums in tall silver metal containers





• Mixed colours of Virdiflora tulips planted in small drifts under the lime poplar alongside vinca and in front of a ligularia that’s just starting to grow.







• Orange leaved acer under planted with red tulips
  





• Blue ceramic pot with bright pink tulips





• Queen of the night (Purple black) tulips in a silver bed

Tulips bring vital colour to the April garden so make sure you get your bulbs in this Autumn for a fabulous splash of colour next spring.