I don’t know about you but I can’t wait for my tulips to come up and burst into bloom. I have a raised bed jam-packed full of them, plus oodles in containers on my patio. While the odd tulip is in flower, the majority aren’t and the anticipation is killing me! So I can only begin to imagine the tension being felt by head gardener, Martin Duncan, who is responsible for the Arundel Castle Tulip Festival.
The Scale of Arundel Castle Tulip Festival
The Arundel Castle Tulip Festival is held between April and early May, and is regarded as one of the top tulip displays in Europe.
This doesn’t surprise me at all as the festival showcases over 120 different named tulips, with Martin Duncan and his team planting over 100,000 tulip bulbs!
I thought planting my raised bed full of tulips was a full on task, but I can only begin to imagine the work involved in all the planting at Arundel.
It’s not just the scale of the planting which is jaw-dropping. The variety of named tulips involved, and the way the planting works with the castle backdrop, will be well worth seeing. For instance, the festival will feature an array of tulips such as Purple Passionale, White Triumphator, Angelique (one of my favourites), Madame Lefeber, Curley Sue, and Flaming Spring Green to name but a few.
I gather that also, for the first time in history, the castle’s iconic steep bank has been planted with more than 10,000 Oxford red tulips, while the labyrinth has been planted with over 14,000 King’s Blood tulips to create a stunning feature, in celebration of King Charles III’s Coronation in May.
Some questions for head gardener, Martin Duncan
I can’t wait to see the Festival for myself. In the meantime, I thought I’d take the opportunity to interview head gardener, Martin Duncan. After all, with so much tulip planting expertise to tap into, it seemed a waste not to pick his brains for his top tulip know-how.
1.Favourite tulips?
I kicked off by asking Martin which tulips are his favourites and why? He had three to recommend…
Dream Touch Tulip is a stunning classic double late Peony Flowered Tulip, purple with a subtle white fringe around each petal – height 40cm.
‘Angelique Tulip’ is beautiful. Also, a Peony flowered double late tulip, with pale pink and cream petals – it is often mistaken for being an actual peony!
‘Black Parrot Tulips’ they are always striking for their shape, and deep purple, almost black appearance.
2. Any new varieties planted for this year’s Arundel Castle tulip festival which you’re particularly looking forward to seeing?
‘Kingsblood’ Tulips are a striking rich, velvet red tulip – 55cm tall. These are new to The Collector Earl’s Garden grass labyrinth this year. The labyrinth will start off with white Thalia narcissus as in the photo above. Then the red Kingsblood Tulips will flower later.
Also, for the first time, we have planted up the south-facing, very steep castle banks with Oxford Red Tulips. These should look wonderful.
3.Which combinations of tulips do you think work really well?
In terms of top combinations, a beautiful mix of Peony flowered tulips Carnival de Nice and Angelique with Blue Diamond never disappoints.
For a delightful vibrant mix early flowering mix, try tulips Monsella, Verona, Abba and Monte Carlo.
When it comes to tulips, just about any colour scheme goes, even orange and purple tulips mixed together!
Plant the colours you like. Choose ones with different heights, and that flower at slightly different times to give you a longer flowering time.
In your flower beds, think about what else will be in flower at the same time, so you can choose your colour schemes to suit.
4. Have you got some top tips for planting tulips and caring for them to ensure a long-lasting display?
- The best time to plant your tulip bulbs is in late October or November, before the heavy frost and at least 10cm or 4 inches deep.
- Ensure you check your tulip bulbs before buying or planting them, avoiding soft, damaged or rotten bulbs as they are unlikely to do well.
- To give height to your pots of tulips, add a Fritillary Crown Imperial in the centre
- Plant bulbs thickly in pots to give a high impact.
- Use other plant combinations with tulips such as ‘myosotis’, ‘primulas’, ‘wallflowers’ which give an extra scent and ‘pansies’.
- Mix your early, mid and late flowering tulips to extend your flowering time.
- When planting in borders, plant in subtle swathes or drifts to give a natural look.
- In the Tropical borders, I tend to use vibrant tulips such as Helmar, Fire Wings, and add the unusual Black Parrot tulips.
5. Many of my readers have problems with squirrels. Any advice for combatting them?
We put some wire mesh over our tulip pots once we have planted them, and this seems to work.
(If you want more advice on how to do this or other tips check out my blog on protecting bulbs from squirrels)
6.) I presume you and your team plant fresh bulbs every year as tulips aren’t brilliant in a second year. But are there any that you’ve found perform well for more than one year?
Some tulips are left in the ground. However, the tulips in pots and our large displays, such as the Wedding Cake, are removed and donated to The British Red Cross to sell on for their charity.
Apeldoorn seem best at coming back year after year. In our kitchen garden we have some which have been in for over 20 years.
A massive thank you to Martin for his time, tips and photos! It’s certainly given me enough of a ‘tulip fix’ to see me through while I wait for my own tulips to come out.
Want to Visit Arundel Castle Tulip Festival?
The Tulip Festival at Arundel Castle will take place during April and early May, but due to the unpredictability of when the bulbs will bloom, it’s a good idea to check Arundel Castle’s social media channels or website to find out when the tulip display is ready to avoid disappointment.
You can get tickets to the festival at www.arundelcastle.org They cost from £14.00 per adult and £6.50 per child. Under 5s go free. Do check the website for full details.