A couple of years ago, I purchased some tulip bulbs, which sat in my kitchen through the winter, until one day when my Mum was visiting, she planted them. Last Spring, when the tulips bloomed, they were the most vibrant red.

Those same tulips in our garden started to sprout up with the warm weather we had a few weeks back. Wes and I both intended to cover them, however — as frequently happens in life — things of more importance took precedence.  Since then, we’ve had sleet, snow, ice, rain, more snow, and as a result we’ve been questioning whether or not the tulips will bloom when Spring finally makes an appearance.

Being the incredible man that he is, Wes brings me home flowers every Friday. This past Friday, he picked up the most beautiful, fresh tulips from Elora St. Flowers — and they’re red, just like the ones in our garden. *sigh* I’ve been enjoying these beauties the past few days, and I have to say, they make me eager for warmer days and to see our outdoor flowers!

Like robins, tulips are a sure sign of Spring. Part of the lily family, tulip flowers come in a wide array of colours, and there are more than 3,000 varieties of the flower. You may associate tulips with Holland, and rightfully so, however tulips are thought to have originated in Central Asia.

While the tulips in our garden are midseason bloomers (late April/early May), you can purchase tulips that bloom as early as March and as late as mid-May. These attractive flowers offer a lot of vibrance for very little maintenance.

On a more important note, April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, and the tulip is the symbol of hope for a cure.