Spring tulips

This cool, wet weather has gone on so long that I was beginning to think my tulips would never open. One warm sunny day was all it took.

Here's my pot of orange 'Ballerina' tulips paired with purple 'Queen of Night'. (The result is more gaudy than I had anticipated: I thought the grape hyacinths - the small blue flowers with the lighter blue topknots - would have finished blooming by the time the tulips opened.

Tulipa turkestanica, also in a pot, is an airy and delicate contrast.

'Spring Green' went directly into the garden. I hope it will look better in future years when it is not alone in a patch of bare earth.

Postscript: Overnight the weather changed back to rain. Today all these flowers are tightly closed.