Though I revel in the return of tulips planted years past, I can’t help but try a few new ones each year. Below is a little gallery of tulips I tried for the first time. Many are not new to horticulture, just new to me.

Tulipa bifloraformis ‘Starlight’ was the first to bloom in late February on our widow sill in the kitchen

Tulipa bifloraformis, an Uzbekistani species first described in 1935, blooming outside on our deck, also in late February.

The 1952 introduction Tulipa ‘Analita’  ( Fostering Group) in mid-March in a client’s garden.

This ” New Comer”, according to the catalogue, is a triumph tulip named ‘Suncatcher’. It bloomed very early for a triumph, mid-March, a symptom of our very mild winter/ early spring this year.

Another Fosteriana tulip ‘Candele’ introduced by K. van Epmond and Sons in 1961. Beautiful!

A relatively new triumph tulip, from 2008, ‘Lasting Love’, was lovely and lasted a good 2 weeks.

I actually planted Tulipa linifolia once before, but forgot and bought new bulbs again last fall. You can see why I would want to have this wild tulip first described in 1884, and recieving a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Honor in 1947. The rich scarlet red and long-lasting blooms  make this my new favorite. ( I must admit the ones I planted in the ground last year did come back but bloomed weekly. I always give them a few years in the ground before I write them off, I have high hopes for this one.)

After many tries, I was finally able to get some bulbs of Tulipa humilis ‘Alba Caerulea Oculata’ ( “the little white blue-eyed tulip”, to translate freely, was found in NW Iran in 1908). Small though it be the blue at the center of this flower is amazingly eye-catching. As if I were a pollenator.

I rarely plant all white tulips, but I accidentally bought the lily-flowered tulip ‘White Triumphator’.  I was dazzled at its show in the shade. I will try more white tulips next year.

The true surprise of the season was the lily-flowered tulip ‘Marianne’. It took weeding near it to figure out how beautifully fragrant it was, sweet enough to be  called “lily”.

I have planted a lot of red and white tulips over the years, but have never run across the triumph tulip’Paradise’ before last fall. It is a Nieuwenhuis Bros. introduction from 1953.  It was stunning as it went through it’s color changes. Two big thumbs up.