Boy with Tulip

The Promise of Spring

The history of tulips is as colorful as the flowers. In the 1600s, tulips were pleasures only the very wealthy could enjoy. Rare and beautiful, they were status symbols of European aristocrats. Then, a buying mania exploded. By 1624, the craze had reached such epic proportions that a single bulb fetched a whopping 4,500 guilders ($2,250 U.S.), plus a horse and carriage! Reaching its heyday in the years 1634 to 1637, the period known as Tulipomania is often compared to the stock market craze of the 1920s.

Despite their stately appearance, tulips are no longer confined to the realm of the aristocracy; instead, they have become one of the most popular of the spring-flowering bulbs. There's a Dutch saying that every bulb holds a promise--a promise of a world alive with color and good cheer. Certainly, the exuberant colors and dependable flowering of tulips fill that promise." - National Gardening Association