Tulips twice

White tulips in a white vase on a white table - you'll have to take my word for it about the vase. Thought I'd might as well do my first blip montage as the kitchen floor didn't exactly enhance the image.

Tulips were first introduced into Europe around the end of the 16th century and by 1634 they had become so sought after and were so expensive that they were treated as a form of currency. Ceramic Tulipere were devised to display the flowers stem by stem, bouquets of cut flowers displayed in vases didn't really become fashionable until the 19th century.

Tulips are associated with the Netherlands and it has the world's largest permanent display at Keukenhof. This is our largest display, although I fear they won't be permanent.

I have shied away from linking to Tiny Tim's rendition of 'Tiptoe through the Tulips' but as an acknowledgement of the Netherlands' contribution to tulip exports you can have this instead.