Tulip Nachtwacht – A Dutch master in bloom

What do you name a new tulip variety when up till now it’s only had a number? That is the task a group of tulip farmers were faced with when they were presented with a brand-new flower in the late 1990s. They realized this beautiful double tulip with peony-like blooms would definitely be a hit, but it would need a name that would evoke the same feeling this discovery did: opulence, richness, elegance, history, the kind of tulip that would grace a mantlepiece in a stately home or be the first thing to greet guests in the foyer of a country club. Looking at the reddish-purple petals with their yellow-flecked insides, and at the elegant ivory and yellow stripes that mimicked brushstrokes inspiration struck: it should be named after a famous Dutch painting. But which one?

Read more at Dutch Grown (Ben Rotteveel)