Le Belle Epoque is the new darling of the tulip world. I saw a photo of her last spring and immediately called my bulb supplier and asked them to special order a couple thousand for me from Holland. They weren’t cheap, and I had my doubts when they first started pushing through the ground this spring — the plants seemed a bit wimpy next to the long graceful stems of my favorite of many years, Menton. But then the first Belle bloomed and she was truly magnificent! A soft fawn brown with veins of deep rose and an belly of smoky purple. Le Sigh.
After that first bloom opened, I literally dreamed that night about an arrangement that included Belle, purple fritillaria, and nearly-black hellebores. Then the next morning as I was harvesting some dogwood, I noticed the purple tinge in the tips of the sepals and I couldn’t resist grabbing a vase right then and there, pushing aside pressing farming tasks for the sake of seeing this dream in my head come together. I have to say, for once reality lived up to the dream! If only the camera (and its user) did a better job of capturing those subtle tones of purple.
Sorry, I just have to comment again. Jennie, this is captivatingly beautiful. Wish I could see her in person. So so beautiful. Xx, D
You’re the sweetest!!! Miss you, lady!
What luscious colors! It’s always so exciting when something turns out as good – or better- than you imagined!
I’ve been playing with purple too, though not such rich tones. Here’s my Backyard Bouquet with lilac, virginia bluebells, flowering almond and rhododendron foliage:
http://threadbrushandvase.blogspot.com/
Love it, Gretchen!! You did a great job this week! Keep posting them! <3
I agree, its very beautiful.
So lush and glorious, makes me think of a Dutch master still life, Jennie. Wow!!
Oh Jennie this is just magnificent! I am trying to get ahold of some La Belles this year, we’ll see. Love those dark hellebores too. Miss you and the farm!
What a lovely post, as a flower lover i always like to read blog that feed my eyes appetite. Keep it up, looking forward for the next post 🙂