Tulalip...

Name: From the Turkish for turban, after its rounded form. Botanical name Tulipa.
Colours: Everything except blue and true black.
Availability: November to May (January to April for British tulips)
Origin: Middle East
Care Tips: Tulips continue to grow in water and will curve towards the light. Make allowances for this when putting them in a vase or wrap the stems tightly in newspaper and stand them in water directly beneath a light for a few hours. Tulips have a vase life of just over a week, and buy flowers in bud but with colour showing.

Facts: Tulips are the third-biggest selling flower in Holland and are also very popular in the UK where many are also grown. The painter David Hockney displays them in his studio in Los Angeles and so they appear in many of his autobiographical paintings and for a long time were seen as his trademark.
Language of Flowers: In the Victorian language of flowers red tulips are a declaration of love, making them ideal gifts for Valentine's Day.
History: In the middle ages tulipmania saw bulbs change hands for the equivalent of £4million pounds a bulb!