I planted a few tulips in pots last autumn, and the first ones to open were Tulipa kaufmanniana ‘Heart’s Delight’.
I have grown these for several years now, and find they don’t last many years in the ground, producing just leaves. So I decided to try containers for a change. They stood outside all winter, close to the wall on the north side of the house, and were basically ignored until I noticed them showing shoots!
I watered them sparingly and moved them into a sunny position. They started flowering about a week earlier than those in the ground.
They have dark green stripy leaves, which add to their attraction both before and after flowering. Sadly I have more leaves than flowers these days – this picture below of the spring corner was taken several years ago.
The Spring Corner (under the Yew tree)
At first the flowers are mostly white, with an egg-yolk centre, but gradually they turn pinker and pinker – a kind of sunset orangey-pink. In the picture above you can see them at both stages. Delightful, don’t you think?
With Corydalis ‘Beth Evans’
The name of this pretty little tulip reminded me of a wonderful song you may have heard of. And not only beacause of the title but also the singer! The English title is ‘You are my Heart’s Delight‘, but the original was German – ‘Dein ist mein ganzes Herz’. It is an aria taken from a Franz Lehar operetta and Jonas Kaufmann sang it at the Last Night of the Proms in the Albert Hall in London a few years ago. I have been smitten with it ever since! Here is a German version with Placido Domingo…
Or if you prefer to hear it in English here is Richard Tauber singing it; he was the man who made it internationally famous after its success in Austria and Germany. The lyrics are lovely in both languages!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JtgmKpcgQ30
Have you ever grown this pretty flower, or maybe a similar early tulip?
Words and Herbs 
No tulips here, but how pretty yours are!
Thanks Laurie!
I planted a bunch of Kaufmania tulips (not this particular one) with the understanding that they would naturalize. Not so, but I did enjoy them for several years. To be fair, it seems other things came along and shaded them out.
I think shade is a problem where I planted these too, but they only last a few years anyway.
They are simply lovely, and I find it intriguing that they darken rather than fading with time – pretty! I used to grow T. greggii ‘Cape Cod’ and found it by far the most reliably perennial tulip in my garden. And I’m not sure why, as it was planted in dry shade underneath an enormous oak tree! But that planting must have grown and bloomed faithfully for at least ten years, though it never spread much.
I love your choice of song to go with the post – both versions! 😉
Tulips seem to be quite resilient to drought, as long as they get a cold spell, so it is great you can grow them at all!
Those are beautiful. They remind me a bit of T. clusiana ‘Lady Jane’. I’m still waiting on ‘Early Harvest’.
I looked up Lady Jane – yes, very similar until the petals start to turn pinky orange. Early Harvest was a week or two late showing here too. Your winter is dragging on, but it must soon warm up now!
Looks terrific with the corydalis. Putting tulips in pots might be the best way for us with moist soil. Can you believe Christina’s horde? They love living in her garden, for sure.
Love Jonas Kauffman!
🙂 Yes, Christina’s tulips are very impressive, and even more so considering how mild the winters usually are there and how dry her garden gets. Pots have proved a success this year, so may do this again. 🙂
They are gorgeous tulips. I don’t grow this one but I have a few tulips now blooming. None are in pots. The tulips planted in front of the house are the first to bloom. The ones out back are now blooming.
My larger ones should be coming along soon too. I love tulips! 🙂
That is a really pretty Tulip! No, I’ve never grown it here. I don’t grow Tulips anymore because of my severe rabbit problem, but I really enjoyed seeing your photos of this beauty! The leaves are delightful, too! I might have to try them in pots–maybe the rabbits won’t get to them there. 😉
And I have got a mice problem, so I am eager to see how much damage has been done in the rockery, as I actually caught a mouse in the act of nibbling a tulip bulb! 😉
Stunning photos! I love it when it has pinked up! My favourite species tulip is Tulipa hageri ‘Little Beauty’ which I will be photographing soon!
I love that one too, but I am not sure if any of mine will flower this year as they have gradually faded out over the past few years. Look forward to seeing your photos Ali!
Such a delightful post!!! I like your tulips, the red cordyalis, the leaves with dark stripes and the aria and singers! Your post is “mein ganzes Herz” (all of my heart).
Ah, thanks Uta! 🙂
They are so pretty! I never saw this before. Thank you for sharing with us. Will look for it this autumn.
One of my favourites! Hope you find some bulbs! 🙂
Your tulip is delightful Cathy; mine all seem to flower at once, especially this year.
Thanks Christina. Your display with them all flowering at once may just be a one-off and is certainly stunning! Enjoy them while they last! 🙂
What a beautiful early tulip. We have grown Ice Stick (another Kaufmaniana tulip) which seems to come back reliably every year. We have also had success with the early Greigii tulip Vanilla Cream which seems to be more perennial than most.
Ice Stick is very similar, but I so love the colour of this one as it ages. I just looked up Vanilla Cream and it is quite lovely – thanks for the tip. There are so many I would love to grow!
Thank you for visiting!
Cathy Tu Tulipa Kaufmanniana, Delight of the Heart, is divine. I love their color and their shape. It is beautiful and wonderful as all the tulips have blossomed at once. The Tulip Heart Delight with Corydalis “Beth Evans” are a gorgeous couple. Thank you very much for including the famous Opera Aria I’ve heard several times and I love it more in German, which is how it was written. I have never cultivated early tulips or the Delight of the Heart; but if I find it, I plant it this Autumn. Have a good weekend. Take care. Greetings from Margarita.
Dear Margarita, I hope you find this tulip to plant in autumn, and wish you a wonderful weekend too! 🙂
My tulips in pots efforts have not been nearly so successful as yours. Well done.
The other three pots are not looking quite as successful, but we will see!
My tulips are planted and I am waiting eagerly for them to open. The Apricot Parrot tulips started breaking ground but now we have snow, so I am hoping that they survive. This winter has been pretty brutal. I do want to plant tulip ‘Menton’ next year, because I find it so pretty, just like yours.
Hi Angie. I love parrot tulips and have also planted some in pots… waiting eagerly for them to open too! Yes, winter was lomger than usual here as well, but it seems North America has had to wait the longest. Hope it warms up soon!
Stunning photos gorgeous header Cathy well done! Also I love that your spring has arrived makes me want mine even more 🙂 Today we have an ice storm on top of all our beautiful Pansies.
Hope you are well!
Thanks! Your poor pansies…. we are getting summery weather this weekend, but you never know how long it will last! 😉
True enough snow fell today and will be spring like come this weekend we take what we get and make the best of it. On a good note my new tractor arrives on Sat! My knees and back will love it more than me.
I recently planted these tulips ( my first foray into tulips in my youngish garden) on the understanding that they would naturalise, so I’m a bit disappointed to discover that may not be the case. They haven’t flowered yet, and won’t for a while, so I’ve yet to find out. Yours look very lovely with the corydalis which I haven’t seen in pink, over here.
None of my tulips have naturalised, not even the botanical ones, but I blame the mice and dry summers. This Corydalis is a garden variety called ‘Beth Evans’ and is much richer in colour than the wild ones we get here.
Your tulips are a delight. I’m glad you had success with the pots. It’s funny how just one change can make the difference. That last picture took my breath away.
The second lot of potted tulips to flower weren’t quite as successful, with only 3 out of 5 bulbs in each pot flowering. More experimenttaion required I think!
Did the tulip greens come up but not flower, or did the entire bulb fail to thrive? Methinks tulips are a fussy lot, but boy they’re gorgeous.
There were a few withered leaves of the other tulips. Maybe they just got too dry in winter? Anyway, those that did flower were lovely! 🙂
Nice!
That’s a good segue from the variety of the flower to Lehár’s song. I think I first heard it sung two or three decades ago by Plácido Domingo, in German. Don’t know if it would sound right in English.
I didn’t realize until I looked up Lehár just now (or had forgotten) that he lived until 1948:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Leh%C3%A1r
Yes, I believe he lived in Salzburg. The aria sounds wonderful in both languages, but I do prefer the original lyrics. I think it is one of those songs that all the famous tenors sing at special events. 🙂 Thanks for the link Steve.