A tulip is a colorful spring flower with a distinctive cup-shaped bloom and smooth, oval petals. Tulips grow from bulbs planted in the fall, sleeping underground through winter, then pushing up through the soil when the weather warms. Their flowers come in nearly every color imaginable: red, yellow, pink, purple, white, and even striped or multicolored varieties.

Tulips originally grew wild in Central Asia and were cultivated by Turkish gardeners over a thousand years ago. The flower became so beloved in the Ottoman Empire that sultans held elaborate tulip festivals. In the 1600s, Dutch merchants brought tulip bulbs to the Netherlands, where they became wildly popular. For a brief period called “tulip mania,” some rare tulip bulbs sold for more than the price of a house! Today, the Netherlands remains famous for its vast tulip fields that bloom each spring in brilliant, sweeping rows of color.

Tulips symbolize spring's arrival and are among the first flowers to bloom after winter. They're relatively easy to grow: plant the bulbs in autumn, wait patiently through the cold months, and watch them emerge when spring returns. Many gardeners love tulips because they bring such cheerful color after a long, gray winter.