Tulipmania is back again, for the third consecutive year. I thought it was just not that long ago that I wrote about Tulipmania 2014. So, time really flies!!
Tulipmania 2015 is on for a longer duration this time, from 20 March to 10 May, in the Flower Dome of Gardens by the Bay. In the past, it lasted about 3 weeks to a month.
This year’s Tulipmania uses the theme of magical fairy tales featuring Snow Queen, Cinderella, Rapunzel etc.
New batch of tulips in this section – most of them have not bloomed yet at the time of my visit on 2 April afternoon
Flower Field with a huge gingerbread house of Hansel and Gretel, surrounded by a variety of tulips and a tall Rapunzel’s tower on the right.
Due to the large gingerbread house structure and also other fairy tales designs and plants, the overall display did not impress me this time as it seems a little bit messy, and has somehow diluted the focus on tulips. Though it is said that there are over 40 varieties of tulips on display this year, the quantities seem to have lessened as compared to previous years, and the flowers seem a little loosely planted too.
In my opinion, this tower with the long “hair” of Rapunzel could be more appealing if it were decorated with colourful array of tulips in vertical planting! But of course, this is just a thought since I am not a floral designer.
The Cinderella’s carriage seemed very popular
There were also Little Mermaid (not so little, actually) and The Ugly Duckling (the swan, actually) surrounded by blue (called Blue Pearl) and purple (called Purple Sensation) hyacinths. I suppose these hyacinths were to symbolise pond/water but too bad, they did not bring out the effect. There was just too much green.
The Windmill with a variety of tulips and hyacinths
If I had to pick a display that I like most, The Snow Queen would be my choice.
The “Snow Queen” section is planted with many white hyacinths (White Pearl), white and cream tulips. White tulips represent purity and forgiveness while cream tulips signify love forever. Too bad, most of them were either over-bloomed or already fading at the time of my visit.
Many tulips in other segments were also over-bloomed or fading. I think the timing of my visit was not very right as it had already been about two weeks since the event started. Tulip flowers have a relatively short life span of just a few days to a week, as I understand.
Fading Bright Parrots
Although I was a little disappointed with the overall display/design and also the condition of the flowers, I always find the vivid, colourful tulips a delight to look at. They simply attract me. This is partly the reason why I have been going to this annual event since 2013.
By paying a bit of attention to the brochure, and the small signboards on display, the event can be educational too.
Do you know that tulips are the third most popular flowers after roses and chrysanthemums? And do you know that tulips are believed to have originated from Central Asia and brought to Turkey by nomadic tribes? Interesting, isn’t it? I always thought that they originated from Europe, if not Netherlands.
Now, my dream is to go to the Netherlands to see the tulip fields. I imagine that would be fantastic!
QING Moments 