Midnight Express

These are species tulips which I read about somewhere and then had to plant in this garden. They are truly perennial and multiply every year. Species tulips are the original tulips from the steppes of Turkey. Later, these were hybridized by Europeans and became taller, more colorful and on singular stems for those who wanted to use tulips for floral arranging. At one time, a hybridized tulip bulb could be used as money in Holland. But for me, these natural tulips are best - plant once and they will go on for years. The petals open in the morning and close at night. The branching of the stems remind me of spiders. Because these come from a high, cold altitude, they bloom early in the spring and survive our fussy Midwest weather. Planted with daylilies, the foliage blends in when their time is done.