Tulipmania - Norton A & B

In 1636 a tulip bulb in Amsterdam sold for the price of a three-story house such was the demand for this new, rare and exotic flower. But it was only new for Europeans and particularly the Dutch who could not get enough of this exotic flower. They painted it, used it for seduction, traded it and showed it in all its glory. It even led to a term we now use called “TulipMania”. However, 1636 was only the culmination of a journey the flower had taken from the wilds and high mountain passes of Central Asia, along the silk road to Istanbul, Turkey and into the court of Sulayman the Magnificent, and hence by a series of misunderstandings, thievery and skullduggery wound up in the Netherlands that we all think of as the home of the tulip but as we will see, hardly the birthplace of this remarkable flower. Today tulips are grown and displayed around the world from Korea to New Zealand, Ottawa to Michigan and of course The Netherlands where it is the national flower. This presentation will take us through the millennium the tulip has been developed as the flower of choice for the spring and the countries of the world that, in their own special way, have displayed and adopted the Tulip.

This program is co-sponsored by the Colchester Garden Club and Friends of Cragin Memorial Library.

Registration is required. Stop by the Adult Circulation Desk or call 860-537-5752 to register.