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Did you know about Bulbs?
This week
Greenfingers launches its comprehensive bulb
range. From narcissi and tulips to alliums and irises,
the bulbs included are sure to bring colour, drama and
even fragrance to your garden. As a taster of what is
to come, we’ve dug up some interesting facts about
these little packages of pleasure.
- The name ‘bulb’
derives from the Greek word ‘bolbos’,
meaning onion.
- The interlinking
scales that make up the hard case of a bulb are actually
modified leaves.
- A bulb is
really a food storage organ designed to exist permanently
underground.
- Bulbous plants
grow in a greater variety of different habitats around
the world than any other type of plant.
- Bulbs were
the first plants to be successfully moved from their
native habitats to different countries. This was because
they could be dug up easily, transported, then replaced
in their dormant state, which is part of their annual
cycle.
- Daffodils
and snowdrops
found growing in the wild were among the first plants
ever to be cultivated in Britain.
- The name for the
narcissus
comes from the Greek word ‘narke’, which
means numbness or stupor. This is because its bulbs
are toxic and cause paralysis.
 Cooking onions (Allium cepa) were long in use as medicinal
aids, as well as charms against infection. Their close
relative garlic (Allium sativum) is now known to be
an effective antiseptic.
- The Madonna
lily can claim probably the most ancient illustration
of any flower. It is depicted on pottery from Egypt
and Crete, dating from shortly after 2000BC.
- In Holland during
the 17th century, tulip bulbs became a highly valuable
commodity. In 1637 a single tulip bulb was sold at auction
for 5,400 Dutch guilders – the equivalent of roughly
£350,000 today.
- Cardiocrinum
giganteum, the 'Giant lily’, is probably the
largest bulb that grows in Britain. It can reach a height
of over 3 metres (10 feet).
- In the 18th
century, the juice of hyacinths
was mixed with wine and used to prevent beard growth.
- In Greek myth, Crocus
and Narcissus were young men who became immortal when
the gods turned them into flowers.
- The stamens
of Crocus
sativus are the source of saffron.
Visit our Superstore
to see the fantastic range of bulbs that are now
available.
Articles
reprinted with permission from Greenfingers.com
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