PLANT IT
Tulips to love before spring
February 27, 2010
Sonia Day
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Tulips; Tulipae
What an unbelievably balmy February. Does this mean we'll soon be seeing green fingernails – i.e. the tips of tulip leaves – popping up in our gardens?
Not on your life. Call me a pessimist, but I bet a gardening buddy $10 the other day that, sometime in March or early April, we'll be hit by at least one big whomp of wet, white stuff. Because that's the way old man winter seems to behave nowadays. He's as unpredictable as Canadian athletes winning medals at the Olympics.
In the meantime, here's an opportunity to enjoy a few tulips as cut flowers or potted plants. The Lung Association holds its annual fundraiser next Wednesday, March 3 in cities and towns all over Ontario. It's called Tulip Day and by buying a bunch or two, we can help folks afflicted with a host of health problems – and enjoy a little burst of colour, too.
In downtown Toronto, volunteers will be selling tulips in the lobbies of bank and government buildings, hospitals, the PATH underground mall and the St. Lawrence Market. Look for a blitz of tulips, too, in suburban shopping malls, banks and retail outlets.
This year, there's a much better choice of colours and varieties than in previous years – everything from dark pink Barcelona to a stripy kind named Leen Vandermark. And remember: Every one of them was raised in Niagara greenhouses – so by buying a few, we're supporting Canadian businesses, too.
To make cut tulips last, put them in cold water, not lukewarm stuff. A penny in the bottom of the vase is said to help (although I'm skeptical.) Strip off lower leaves, so they're not immersed.
And keep your fingers crossed that I'm wrong about the arrival of spring.www.soniaday.com
Toronto Star