For the past couple of years, in late winter and early spring, Fethiye Belediyesi (Fethiye Council) have been planting thousands of daffodil and tulip bulbs in garden areas, parks and verges along the roadsides of the town. A couple of weeks ago, the first sproutings of spring appeared in the form of green shoots and right now, we're all being treated to a colourful festival of flowers.
Fethiye In Bloom
Last year's post, Fethiye Springtime Blooms, also featured pansies but tulips (lale in Turkish), the national flower of Turkey, are definitely the flower of choice in Fethiye for 2012.
Vibrant crimsons, sunny yellows, dazzling whites and dusky pinks crowd garden and park areas, providing perfect photo fodder for those of us who wander around with camera - I wasn't the only one crouching down in uncomfortable positions trying to get an interesting angle.
This post is our 600th blog post. We thought we would celebrate it with flowers.
26 comments:
What a wonderful way to celebrate! Congrats on your 600th blog post! Looking forward to the next 600!
The tulips are amazing! Isn't it great that the council had the foresight to plant these a couple of years ago. March looks like a beautiful time to visit...sun shining, tulips, no crowds!
how gorgeous. i would really love to read a post on what would most surprise us in the states about turkey. i have always thought of it as being so foreign to us but we seem so similar.
Simply stunning!! Guess spring is on its way!
Oh, Julia, I am so glad to see these gorgeous photos! I am so ready for spring and so ready to be in Turkey in a few more weeks!
Greetings from Moldova where it is still winter.
@ Laurel: Thanks. Yes, hopefully the next 600 blog posts will be coming around soon.:)
@ Jenny: We love the annual tulips now, although not sure what they'll look like today as we had a good old storm in Fethiye last night. :)
@ Jaz: Many similarities between lots of countries. We're all just people trying to get through life as best we can...and tulips make for a pleasant few days. :)
@ Belinda: Well we're hoping the Fethiye weather is on the turn although it's too great today. :)
@ Miss Footloose: Yes, it's definitely warmer now in Fethiye. Sorry to hear it's still winter in Moldova but looking forward to meeting up for a drink in spring temperatures. :)
. . 'what a picture, what a photograph' to quote Tommy Steele.
Congrats on the stirling blogging record!
Ah you are so lucky - the flowers look beautiful. Barely any green shoots yet in Istanbul, still very cold. Looking forward to the Istanbul tulip festival though in a few weeks, I hope they will be blooming by then!
Congratulations on your 600th. I haven't seen one tulip around Bodrum. Far too many bulldozers and dumper trucks
Simply lovely. As you may know Bodrum is in chaos at the moment. All we’ve got is a blanket of pansies (seriously). This may seem appropriate but this pansy is best perked by stunning spring tulips.
Wonderful to wake up and read your 600th blog. Congratulations. I felt like these photos are just for me since today is the first day of my 70th year and to receive these flowers on my birthday day was just the thing the make my day!
Beautiful and thank you. Suzanne
@ Alan: Ha ha, thank you. And even we know that song! ;)
@ Jayne: Oh, we would love to see the tulips in bloom in Istanbul. We've seen photos and it looks amazing. Fethiye will suffice for now, though. :)
@ Backto Bodrum: No shortage of dumper trucks and diggers in Fethiye either. It's just that they look a bit more pleasing before a backdrop of tulips. :)
@ Jack Scott: :)) Fethiye went the pansy route last year. Nice and all but there's something a bit '70s about the pansy - of the flower variety - don't you think? :)
@ Suzanne: Well now there's a coincidence! A very happy birthday to you. You may claim the tulips of Fethiye as your own. :)
Stunning, I love Tulips and had no idea they were the national flower in Turkey. Your photos are beautiful.
In my Scottish garden the tulips are only just putting leaves through just now so it will be at least 3 more weeks before buds and more till the flowers open, usually mid April. How wonderful for you to get such vibrant colour in March.
It's lovely to see the daffs as well, that would really remind me of home. My early daffs are open here and I have a big range so I should have various types flowering over the next 2 months. I wish I spoke TUrkish so I could advice the Council which other daffs to plant to make their display last twice as long (though in your warmer weather even a longer display wouldn't last as long as in our colder Spring)
In my fantasies about living in Fethiye one of my dream jobs was to work with the council, hotels and community to get lots more variety into the planting. I was always blown away by the spring flowers in the fields but didn't see that translated so much in City gardens and public spaces except where they had blown in by accident - and to my great delight. Maybe that has changed since the mid 90's.
Here in the UK the gardener Sarah Raven has a campaign to get councils planting more pollinator friendly plants and it's gorgeous to see how different those areas look compared to standard planting (like the blocks of pansies you mentioned).
If I ever could have handled the heat and stayed permanently in Fethiye I'm sure I would have be known locally as the garden lady, (or deli çiçek kadın?).
@ Cally: Thanks for that comment. You've definitely got a lot more gardening knowledge than we have. Yes, the daffs don't last too long here. just a few days. Lovely to see them though. Deli Çiçek Kadın would make you the Crazy Flower Lady. Does that fit? ;)
600 posts! Well done!
The flowers are beautiful! I love tulips and these are really colourful. I agree: definitely enjoy them while they last. Imagine they're particularly short-lived in the warm climate of Turkey.
What wonderful photos. The flowers are a welcome sight. It is still gray and rainy here and it will still be a while before we see signs of spring. This was my first visit to your blog,but I will be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary
@ Sophie: Thanks! :) I think that's why they're planted so early because it is starting to get warmer now, albeit slowly. Not sure what will be left of these tulips actually as there was a storm in Fethiye last night. They might be looking a bit forlorn.
@ Mary: Yes, the spring flowers are always such a welcome sight aren't they? Especially when the winter has been grey and wet like it has here in Fethiye. :)
You are so far ahead of us here in Istanbul as far as spring is concerned! I am amazed! Today I was wearing my Cornwall equivalent of Ugg boots with 2 pairs of socks!!!
Yes, Crazy Flower Lady was what I was going for. I was always know, affectionately, as Deli Kız when I was younger because I was not your usual westerner and was into using herbs and things instead of medicines. If anyone got sunburn I'd be straight in there slathering them in fresh yoghurt and honey to cool and heal. Very effective but definitely raises eyebrows.
What gorgeous flowers in so many vibrant colors. Nice that the tulip is the national flower, but those daffodils are quite beautiful, too. Love the pics.
I had no idea that the tulip was the national flower of Turkey!! AMAZING! The pics are amazing. We also have a tulip festival of sorts here in Washington State- it is amazing how tulips are so wildly liked.
@ A Seasonal Cook In Turkey: It's still not fantastically war, Claudia, but the greenery around town is sprouting through and on a sunny day (very rare so far in 2012) we can get away with not jacket so we're getting there. :)
@ Cally: Yoghurt is just a magic substance for lots of things, isn't it. we're never without it in our house. :)
@ Cathy Sweeney: They definitely brighten the centre of Fethiye up as you;re doing your shopping. Daffodils just say spring son't they?
@ Anjuli: Tulips originally grew in Middle Eastern countries, Anatolia being one of them. They were then exported to Holland. They're a beautiful flower aren't they?
Gorgeous flowers.....love Tulips. Soon as spring is around the corner here I always buy a bunch for my home. I do have some in my garden but I swear the squirrels watch me plant them in Fall and dig them bulbs out every year.
In Canada's capital city we also have a Tulip Festival every year ....the public doesn't know but Tulips are not really from Holland but Turkey during the Ottaman Empire......so I go and explain.
Have a great day!
@ Erica (Irene): Yes, we love the tulips. They look beautiful in a vase too but I don't think Fethiye council would take too kindly to us pulling a few up for our house. :) Have a great day yourself.
Post a Comment