From the leaves to the stems, and of course their blooms and colours, I find tulips are flowers I return to time and again as a design inspiration for many silk scarves in the collection. I can easily understand why they caused such a storm in the Seventeenth Century, and why people still love them today.
In my garden I have many different varieties, from parrots to lily-flowered and florists tulips. There is something I find totally fascinating about their simple or frilly shapes, and the colours - so much variety! I try to group them together in similar tones for the greatest impact, with mainly white and green tulips together in the front garden, warms yellows and reds together in the side garden, and beautiful inky purples combined with pinks under our walnut tree.
One of my favourite new discoveries this year was the danceline tulip. Multiple cream petals, flecked with a tiny dash of magenta encourage you to look closer. Also this year I planted some pastel parrot tulips, and they really delivered. I photographed these by my front door on rather a windy day, but I managed to capture them despite the blooms nodding in the breeze.
I can almost use them as dabs of colour in the garden, similar to painting. I'll be continuing to add to my collection next year too. I've ordered a darwin hybrid tulip called 'Light and dreamy' which combines purplish pink and lavender with a soft touch of near-blue, and a slightly fringed tulip called 'Lemon beauty' which has white ruffles and lemon-yellow streaks. I'm looking forward to seeing how these grow and will have my camera ready.
If you love tulips, here are some current scarves from the collection. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Browse the tulips and all floral designs here
Charlotte x
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