Wednesday’s Flower: Tulip

This Wednesday, my focus flower is the tulip. These flowers were originally cultivated in present-day Turkey, and introduced to Europe in the 16th century. They were so rare and so expensive that for a time tulip bulbs were used as currency in Holland! Living in Sydney now, I no longer see these harbingers of spring bravely poking through the snow, and although they can be coaxed to grow here their lives are brief. But they’re available as cut flowers, a reminder for us as we head into winter that somewhere in the world, it’s spring.