tulips

All of those famous tulips from the Dutch Mania of the 1630s, Semper Augustus, Viceroy, they're gone now, but I still like the association that certain tulips evoke. Not the average, egg-shaped petaled tulips you see today in florists' shops, but baroque, ruffled flowers that speak only of decadence and splendor. Black tulips are especially sensuous for some reason, and I have to say I am completely enamored of them.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Black Parrots: perfectly ruffled and eye-catching. I love their shape almost more than I love their color.

Insulinde: The broken streaks of black-purple remind me of the flowers of the Tulip Mania, but somehow more somber, and perhaps sinister? Maybe I am reading too much into these flowers.

Philippe de Comines: an unadorned but respectable black tulip

Queen of the Night: perhaps even darker and more luscious than the Philippes.