The Black Tulip

 Tulips are supposed to be bright and colorful. After the long, dark winter months we look forward to the yellow daffodils and red tulips. A splash of color to cheer us up.

A few weeks ago I took a photo of the tulips and daffodils in our garden. They were beautiful flowers, radiant in red and white. But the other day, I saw some black tulips. Well, almost black. Black tulips are supposed to be something special.

The myth of the existence of a black tulip inspired the 1850 novel by Alexander Dumas, a story that influenced generations. It includes the story of a magnificent prize, offered to the first man or woman to produce a pure, black tulip. Dutch growers worked for years to create a black tulip in real life.

A few tulip breeders came close. In 1891, a well-known grower declared victory in creating the fictional flower, going so far as to name his new breed ‘La Tulipe Noire’ after the book. However, the color was not black but dark purple. Others followed with ‘Queen of Night’ in 1944, and in 1955 ‘Black Beauty.’ All were undoubtedly dark, but they were also undoubtedly deep shades of purple. So the search continued, with many breeders enthralled.

 The darkest tulip now in existence bloomed for the first time thirty years later on a cold winter night in a greenhouse in the tiny village of Oude Niedorp. A 29-year-old horticulturist Geert Hageman had been obsessed with creating a truly black tulip from the time he first read Dumas’s novel as a boy. In 1979, he crossed a handful of promising varieties, hoping for just the right combination and a bit of luck, too. And then, like all tulip makers, he could do nothing but wait.

Just after midnight on February 18, 1986, Geert decided to check his greenhouse one last time before going home. It was well below freezing outside, but pleasantly warm inside. He’d planted thousands of tulip seeds seven years earlier, and now these plants were about to bloom for the first time. Each one planted in its own pot, sported a green bud, just beginning to show color. As he scanned the greenhouse, a small dark flower caught his eye. Was this the black tulip he had hoped and worked for? Among his myriad plants, only one, just one, produced that black flower.

The next day, he took his single tulip to a flower show and it created quite a stir. It took 11 more years to build sufficient stock to bring the new tulip to market. During that time, Geert toyed considered many names, Winnie Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. among them, but in the end, Geert settled on ‘Paul Scherer.’ Geert’s flower is widely available today, the blackest tulip on the market, a credit to patience and persistence.

But is it a true Black Tulip? Both yes and no. These tulips are darker than any that came before and are widely considered to be the darkest breed of tulips today. However, the breed still maintains a faint purple hue, and so is not, still, truly black.

Today is my friend’s birthday. It should be a joyous occasion. A day of celebration. A special birthday. But the bright flowers that she loves were first replaced by white lilies when her beloved son passed away a few weeks ago. And now, after a beautiful memorial service for the gentle and loving son she had taken care of for 43 years, it might not yet seem to be the right time for colorful flowers. Maybe it is time for black tulips now. Those special flowers that are so difficult to create. So special. Just like her son. Mourning a beloved son is a challenging time when we can’t see the bright colors in life. Maybe it is a time to see the beauty in the black tulips, while at the same time remembering the bright colors of days gone by.

I wish my beloved friend a happy birthday despite her sadness and that she could understand that while the black tulip is beautiful, it is not completely black. There is still some color left in life.