Why we re all buying British tulips now (and how to style them)
Bring on the tulips for a joyful jolt of colour – the resurgence of British flower farming is a cause for celebration
24 April 2021 • 5:00am
Raspberries and cream:
double-flowered ‘Columbus’ tulips with peony-like flowers, grown by Smith & Munson flower farmers in Lincolnshire
Credit: Smith & Munson
Lincolnshire has long been famed for its flowers – tulips, in particular – and has strong ties to Holland’s world-famous flower trade. Dutch growers have historically settled on the flat, fertile coastal plains of eastern England.
My grandmother, Stella Read (née Maud Sutterby), who we lost to Covid-19 this time last year, was the only child of tulip farmers and bulb growers from Spalding, who also grew potatoes, daffodils and tomatoes. Instead of marrying her Dutch flower grower fiancé as her parents had hoped, she met my grandfather at the Victory Services Club in Marble Arch, and moved to London.