Flowers that Grow from Bulbs
You've tried your green thumb at flowers that grow from seeds and now you think it might be time to graduate to flowers that grow from bulbs. A bulb is a fleshy bud that holds nutrients and water to sustain a plant underground during dormant seasons. Despite seeming intimidating, flowers that grow from bulbs can actually be very easy to grow and care for. Choose large, firm bulbs when you are shopping to end up with a healthy flower.
Tulips
Tulips must be the most well known of all the bulb flowers. There are hundreds of varieties of tulips you can plant thanks to enthusiastic horticulturists who've been creating new types of tulips for hundreds of years. Tulips are originally from Central Asia, but they achieved their highest fame in Holland when the Dutch went bonkers buying and selling tulip bulbs for the modern equivalent of thousands of dollars per bulb. Today, you can find tulips in almost any color you can imagine for much more reasonable prices.
Irises
If you're a fan of modern art, you might recognize the iris from the work of Vincent van Gogh. The most common type of this bulb grows into a tall stem supporting an exotic looking, deep purple flower with a yellow stripe. There are actually over 200 types of irises, though, and they come in all sorts of colors. You may be interested to learn that the iris was also the inspiration for the Fleur de Lys.
Daffodils
Daffodils are related to tulips and come from Portugal and Spain. Daffodils are a type of narcissus and are often the first flowers to bloom when spring has finally arrived. Carl Linneaus, the guy who devised botanical nomenclature, believed that poor Narcissus, a Greek youth who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool, actually turned into a daffodil. These flowers still grow in the wild in Ukraine.
Flowers that grow from bulbs can make beautiful additions to your garden.
