Tulips from Turkey


Our most well-known bulb is the tulip. ‘Tulip’ comes from the Latin word tulipa, meaning ‘the flower that resembles a turban’. This might seem like a strange name, but not if you know that tulips were being grown and traded in Turkey as far back as the Middle Ages. And in those days, the men there wore turbans. So that explains it! Another interesting fact: the tulips we grow today originally came from the ones grown back then in Turkey.


Turkey was a powerful country around 1550. In those days, Turkey was ruled by a rich sultan by the name of Suleiman. His palace gardens were full of the most beautiful tulips; after all, he was wealthy and the wealthy could afford luxury. Tulips were also considered a luxury because they were held in such high esteem. It’s hard to imagine now, but in those days a human life was worth less than a single tulip!