My book review for today is:

Tulipomania: The Story of the World’s Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused written by British journalist Mike Dash.

I actually enjoyed this book more then I thought. The reader gets a bit of history and more about the tulip.  I especially enjoyed learning about how the tulip bulb traveled from central Asia and made it’s way to Holland.

Tulip mania peaked in February 1637.  It was a time when the Dutch did not like to live beyond their means. But at the same time, seeing how much money one can make dealing with bulbs was very tempting.  The tulip was considered a luxury item and status symbol for some people.

And what I found humorous was how people reacted when the tulip market crashed.  It’s so strange how people can come to love something so much but then hate it so.  I know people were losing money and homes, possibly their mind too.  But you can’t win them all.  Especially if you were dealing in a speculative market. 

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If I had more garden space, I’d like to grow some of these Chinese Lantern flowers. Not to be confuse with the Chinese Lantern Lily I posted about earlier. These flowers are suppose to make great dried flowers too.  These beautiful photos are from Photos Ali in Holland via Flickr.

Chinese Lanterns got their name for the orange, paper-like husks they produce that resemble Chinese paper lantern. They are native to Asia and Japan. They are sometimes called Strawberry Tomato, Winter Cherry or Ground Cherry. I think it’s because of the berry inside this paper-like husks that gives it that name. Chinese Lanterns are also related to tomatillos . Tomatillos are popular in Mexican sauces and look like green tomatoes.  They are used to make  salsa verde or green sauce.

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The first sign of spring for us in California is usually peach or plum blossoms. But sometimes you can catch wild daffodils growing alongside the highway too. And the one I look out for most of all is pretty and colorful tulips growing from the garden. They don’t look like normal flowers since they remind me more of Easter eggs in different colors.

Photo from The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Information.

And when I think of tulips, I always think of the Netherlands. Or the fact that tulips at one time in history was very valuable and caused a “tulip mania”. Or more of a speculative bubble, like that of the dot come years. But that is a whole other topic. Read the rest of this entry »