Tuliptree

Tulip trees?  Uhhuh.  Right, it's April 1, don't you fool me... I know the 1957 sphagetti-tree-hoax from the BBC. Women drying pasta in a tree. So, what's up with this tulip tree? Well, I've got two in my garden. Okay. They are so called "false tulip trees". But they do belong to the same family as the original tulip trees...

The photos show the large white Magnolia, also called the false tulip tree or beaver tree, in my backyard. Around this time of year it is always in full bloom. The other, still small, Magnolia is a dark purple variety. A tree that I deliberately keep small, otherwise I will have nothing but shade in my garden in no time. Tall and large trees are beautiful, but when the flowering is over and they are in full leaf, they block all sunlight. So prune in time.

The white Magnolia was already there when we moved here. It is on the property line, but in such a way that I always thought it was on the neighbor's plot of land. Until he rang the doorbell and asked if he could prune his side of the tree. Only then did it become clear to me that the tree was on my side of the garden.

The real tulip tree or American tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, is a fairly large tree from the Tulip tree family or Magnoliaceae. In its native area, the southern Alleghanies in America, the tree grows to 65 metres high. Here in Europe it is mainly planted in parks and does not grow much higher than 30 metres. By the way, I think that the flowers of the real tulip tree look less like tulips than those of the Magnolia. But then again, here in Holland we are spoiled. At this time of year the flower bulb fields are in bloom again. Then the landscape looks a bit like this week's painting "Terra Tulipa". All kinds of fields with hyacinths, daffodils and tulips in different colours. And every flower (cultivar) has its own name and its own story.

The colored lines in the painting "Terra Tulipa" are not only timelines, but also a reference to tulip fields. You can find / order it here: https://eduard-meinema.pixels.com/featured/mit202514-terra-tulipa-eduard-meinema.html

The original (20x20cm) is for sale. Order here: https://payhip.com/b/ScaBb