Sorry for the slow response. The weather was warm and the sky was curiously bright today. I believe the locals call this phenomenon "sun". I was outside most of the day, so 1) a lot got accomplished and 2) I am very sore.
As for the tulips, they usually look great for a couple days, then start to lose a petal, here, a petal there, and pretty soon they look sad and ratty. Then the foliage hangs around forever, looking floppy. I've got some up by the house, which got abused anyway last year despite the protected location, and some at the end of the driveway. I am only growing one kind this year, and it's for the dark burgundy, almost black color. This year, I'm going to use them for cut flowers before the wind has a chance to ruin them.
