My most recent article came out today.  It is about Tulipmania and it is in a Master Gardener publication so I do not have a way of directing you to the information.  I will condense it a little.  Tulipmania is a recognized period of time in Holland around 1637 when tulip bulbs were so valued that some varieties could cost more than a house in Amsterdam at that time.  Carolus Clusius, who was the director of the oldest European botanical garden located in Leiden, received some tulip bulbs from Constantinople.  People began to trade in tulips, with hybrids and mutations making the flower even more tempting.  No one at the time understood why a field with solid red tulips might later contain some red tulips with white markings or why the petals might become ruffled.  That only added to the intrigue.  I read that some attempted to create red and white tulips by cutting the bulb of a red tulip and a white tulip in half and then attaching them together.  Tulip bulbs were sold based on their weight while they were still in the ground.  Traders made huge amounts of money at that time.  However, eventually the tulip no longer justified such high prices.  Dealers went bankrupt and many people lost their savings and their homes.  The government stepped in with trade restrictions in an attempt to prevent another "Tulip Crash." 

Anyway, the fields of tulips in Holland are breathtaking in the spring.  My husband and I traveled there in 2002 - which was one of the years when Floriade was held.  It was one of my favorite trips!

What is going on in Lexington today?  It is a beautiful day and I just came in from planting some pansies.  They bloom all winter for us and I actually had a few plants that made it through the entire summer this year.  That is very unusual.  Normally they die around May when it just gets to be too hot for them!  A very pretty combination for us to plant is pansies and parsley. 

It is hard to believe that we will be switching our clocks so soon.  My garden has responded to the rain and warmer weather.  I have quite a few things in bloom.  In fact, my roses, which did not have a very good year this summer, are putting out some pretty blooms right now!   I will add some more pictures as soon as I get a chance.