Tulip magic

My lovely, blowsy tulips are at the end of their loveliness now, battered as they've been by the torrential downpours (drought? What drought?) and fierce winds.


I found one stem bent over and broken by this weather, but even though it was a little past its best, the colour and sheen of the petals deserved to be enjoyed for a few days more.



There's a clever trick my friend Sarah shared with me, whereby you stick a pin through the base of the tulip flower - and the result is? The petals stay intact.

Even when this bloom finally shrivelled,the petals remained firmly in place. And I gained an extra week's enjoyment of this sunny stunner.

Stay pretty