Tulip mania: A flower too beautiful to afford

by Tania Dooley 

Tulips by Pieonane 
Via Pixabay

     Tulips usually signify the arrival of spring and every time I buy them I’m reminded of the phenomena in the 17th century Netherlands known as “Tulip Mania.” Tulip mania refers to a time when this flower became so desired in Europe that it drove up the price to as much as a man’s full years’ salary. In other words, they became so expensive and out of reach for the regular consumer. 
     At that time they were the favorite flower to plant around castle gardens and so palaces, who had plenty of money were content paying the high prices, oftentimes displaying them as a way to flaunt their wealth.  

Keukenhof Gardens 
by Elena laps
 Via WikiCommons

     This was really the beginning of the Dutch’s love for cultivating flowers particularly this one. They have been arranged so beautifully all over the Netherlands that it has often inspired some of the most acclaimed artists in the world to create paintings of them.  The French painter Claude Monet chose a field in Holland for his famous Tulip Fields (1886) which is now displayed at the Musee d'Orsay, a museum in Paris, France.

Tulip Fields (1886) by Claude Monet
 via WikiCommons

     According to Business Insider, the Netherlands is still the number one producer of tulips in the world, even having a National Tulip Day. 
     Times have changed.  The increased production of tulips results in a reduction of  prices and so this translates into the ability to own these flowers that were once reserved for the wealthy.  They are reasonably priced now so that the regular consumer can plant in their own gardens, or purchase them to adorn their homes inside and out.  

     
~That’s your bit of history from around the world.

References

BusinessInsider.com (2020) https://www.businessinsider.com/away-winter-blues-netherlands-marks-national-tulip-day-2020-1

Photo credits: Tulips by Pieonane via Pixabay
     Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands via WikiCommons
     Tulip Fields by Claude Monet, via WikiCommons