I heard about the Wakefield and North of England Tulip Society a few years ago and was more recently intrigued by the profound care society members take to protect them.  I joined two years ago and was beyond thrilled to receive a parcel in the autumn; an old cracker box with 11 bulbs inside, each individually wrapped and labelled in two parts. One was called ‘Breeder’ and the other ‘Broken’. No two bulbs were the same and I couldn’t find information on any of them anywhere. This was the moment I realised I had a box of treasure and the moment my collection of English Florists’ tulips and obsession began.  I obeyed the planting instructions to plant the breeders first (in pots), so as not to contaminate them after handling the broken ones and then, once planted and labelled, I put them on a bench with wire over the top to prevent any wildlife digging them up over the winter.

As they began to emerge, the anticipation of whether they would grow without hitch was almost too much to bear.  Two of mine were so close to being perfect to capture, that I they travelled with me to a workshop in Prussia Cove (Beltane) that I was taking part in. It was too risky to leave them behind, especially as the deer had demolished all my naturalised tulips in the spring meadow.  So along they came, much to the amusement of my friends, and luckily they weren’t snipped and used in the workshop itself, although they came close!  Once home, I photographed them and that following weekend was the Tulip Show in Wakefield, I assumed mine didn’t make the grade so I regretfully didn’t enter.  This year, although completely nerve-wracking, I did enter the show with one of my tulips ‘Wakefield Flamed'. It was the Novice class, and unbelievably I came second! I was thrilled - the stress and pressure fell away and pride took its place.  

I am absolutely bewitched by these extremely rare tulips and vow to continue capturing them, not just for my own delectation but for the history books, not that there is one as yet.  They really are very special tulips indeed, which leads me on to why I have shown them mostly in platinum..