Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Tiptoe through the Tulips and a GIVEAWAY!




Tiptoeing through the tulips in 1637 might very well have gotten you arrested. And heaven forbid you'd stepped on one! That likely would have put you in debtors jail.


By Illustrator: Sydenham Edwards (1768-1819)Engraver: F. Sansom - Curtis's botanical magazine vol. 19 Public Domain Wiki


Sounds a bit farfetched, eh? It really could have happened. In 1554 The Ottoman Empire sent the first tulip seeds to Vienna. The seeds were quickly spread to other countries. But it wasn't until 1593 when a Flemish botanist discovered that the tulips could tolerate much harsher conditions that the became popular.

Tulips were much a much different flower than any other flower in Europe and with their vibrant color soon became a favorite. The East Indies Trade Co. were making as much as 400% profits on one shipment. The Dutch merchants were making excellent money and soon developed what was called the merchant class. They displayed their success and wealth by making fabulous gardens where the tulip was the star flowers. Tulips soon became a coveted flower driving the prices up.

As in all things coveted, one starts seeing specialists who learn all the ins and outs of anything profitable. Tulips were no exception. The tulips were put into groups and from there they were priced according to their rarity. There was one group called the Bizarden. These flowers were so unique with there lines and streaks and multi colors on the petals that they looked exotic thus making them in high demand. (Later it was discovered that the Bizrden tulips actually had a virus that caused these beautiful flames of color on the petals.)

Tulips were the 4th leading export of the Netherlands behind gin, herring and cheese. With tulips in
such high demand . One tulip could sell for 10 times the income of a skilled craftsman. As more and more people became rich from the high cost of tulip bulbs, virtually all of Holland's people began dabbling in tulips, from the rich to the very poor causing poverty in Holland to become extinct. 

However, the only way for this to continue was for the demand of tulips to continue. They believed that wealthy people all over the world would continue to want these much sought after flowers and they could continue to ask whatever price they desired. 

A Satire of Tulip Mania by Jan Brueghel the Younger (ca. 1640) depicts speculators as brainless monkeys in contemporary upper-class dress.

From November of 1636 to March 1937 the tulips had reached their peak and it is said that bulbs were changing hands 10 times in one day. But the bubble collapse was inevitable and the beginning of the end started in Haarlem when first time buyers refused to show up for a bulb auction. The bubonic plague may have been the reason for both the rise and fall of the tulip bubble. During the plague people began to be more risk takers but as time continued it is believed that the wide spread outbreak may also have been the bubble's demise. According to Scottish journalist Charles Mackey, the panicked tulip speculators attempted to get help from the Netherlands government. Their answer was that anyone who had bought contracts to purchase bulbs in the future could end their contract by paying a 10% fee. To keep from utter chaos, attempts were made to resolve the contract problem so that all involved would be satisfied. But that was not to be. In the end, people were stuck with bulbs and the courts would not enforce the payments due to the fact they believed the debts as contracted through gambling and so were not enforceable by law. 
 
Wagon of Fools by Hendrik Gerritsz Pot, 1637.
Giveaway: To enter to win your choice of a copy of one of my books, my new release, Shattered Memories or my medieval, Sword of Forgiveness, tell me what is your favorite flower and why or tell me why you'd like to read one of my books. Don't forget to leave your email with your comment so I can contact you if you win. For extra entries share this post on FB and/or Twitter and let me know you shared. Ends June 14th.

The Charleston earthquake has left destruction like nothing Doctor Andrew Warwick has ever seen. On a desperate mission to find the lady who owns his heart, he frantically searches through the rubble, where he finds her injured and lifeless. After she regains consciousness, the doctor’s hopes are quickly dashed as he realizes she doesn’t remember him. Things only get worse when he discovers she believes she’s still engaged to the abusive scoundrel, Lloyd Pratt. Now Drew is on a race with the wedding clock to either help her remember or win her heart again before she marries the wrong man.

Waking in a makeshift hospital, Olivia Macqueen finds herself recovering from a head injury. With amnesia stealing a year of her memories, she has trouble discerning between lies and truth. When her memories start returning in bits and pieces, she must keep up the charade of amnesia until she can find out the truth behind the embezzlement of her family’s business while evading the danger lurking around her.



Debbie Lynne Costello has enjoyed writing stories since she was eight years old.

She raised her family and then embarked on her own career of writing the stories that had been begging to be told. She and her husband have four children and live in upstate South Carolina. She has worked in many capacities in her church and is currently the Children’s director. Debbie Lynne has shown and raised Shetland sheepdogs for eighteen years and still enjoys litters now and then. In their spare time, She and her husband enjoy camping and riding their Arabian and Tennessee Walking horses. Visit Debbie Lynne at www.debbielynnecostello.com, www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com,  https://www.facebook.com/debbielynnecostello , https://plus.google.com/+DebbieLynneCostello/posts, and https://twitter.com/DebiLynCostello

43 comments:

  1. Such an interesting story, Debbie - thank you!! My fave flowers are hydrangeas (love those beautiful huge blossoms) and lilacs - they are a reminder of playing with my grandparents near the lilac bushes in their yard, as a child.

    bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Shared post!!

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  2. Hey Bonnie! I LOVE lilacs. The beautiful fragrance has memories of childhood for me too! I should plant some at the farm. Memories for my grandkids. :o)

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  3. This post is so interesting! Tulips are my favorite flower.

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    1. I've only grown solid colored tulips, so these with viruses were so interesting!

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  4. Love the post! I love iris because thy come in so many beautiful colors and they are such a delicate looking flower.

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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    1. Hey Melanie. I have irises and lilies all the way around my flower garden. Thanks for coming by.

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  5. My favorite flower is the rose. It is beautiful like life but it also has thorns as life has hard times. You learn from the thorns and enjoy the beauty of the petals.
    karenskrayonsATgmailDOTcom

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    1. So very true! We learn so much through the hard times and help us to enjoy life and appreciate the good ties. A wonderful analogy! Thanks for coming by!

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  6. My favorite flower would be a peony. l.bergh@sbcglobal.net

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  7. Hi Debbie, I love sunflowers,marigolds and mums. The sunflowers and the marigolds nourish my love of yellow and the marigolds are pretty till the first hard freeze. Mums have beautiful green foliage to enjoy during the summer until they burst into color in the fall. I do enjoy all flowers and I love to have the different varieties to feed my love of the beauty of God's Creation.
    Thank you for this giveaway. I shared it on Twitter.
    https://mobile.twitter.com/cps1950/status/740238834181496832
    Connie
    cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. I love sunflowers. They get so big and so beautiful! Mums remind me of highschool because we always had one game in the year when we could give a mum to someone else. Marigolds remind me of miniature mums! LOL> I agree, God's handy work can surely be seen in flowers. Thank you for coming by and thank you for sharing!

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  8. It's funny you did this story, because Tulips are my favorite. I love receiving yellow tulips from my husband. Thanks for having the giveaway.

    harnessrose(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. I have a lot of tulips in my yard. I love that they come up every year and I don't have to replant. That's always a plus for me. :o) So glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for coming by!

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  9. I love the simple yellow lilies in my front flower bed! So hearty and easy to care for.
    I've read shattered Memories and would love to read Sword of Forgiveness.

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Hello Patty. Ah lilies another flower win my garden. And once again its a bulb and I don't have to replant each spring. ;o) They are hearty. Oh my goodness they withstand a lot! Thanks for coming by.

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  10. What interesting information, I love tulips, since they along with daffodils and crocuses are the beginning of spring here in the north. I never realized that tulips had such a colorful history :)

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    1. Hello Betti. My husband is the one that told me about the tulip bubble and I said oh that sounds like a great blog post! I do love spring flowers. But my favorite flower is a blackeyed susan with the daisy at a close second.

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  11. I love wild violets in the spring and pretty much all flowers. I loved Shattered Memories and my sister took it to TN as she wanted to read it.
    leliamae54(at)aol(dot)com

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    1. Hey Lucy! You made my day! I'm so glad you enjoyed it and your sister wanted to read it! I hope she enjoys it too. You mentioned wild violets, I had totally forgotten about those flowers. I loved them as a child and would walk the woods admiring them. Thanks for the walk down nostalgia lane! Thanks for coming by.

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  12. My favorite flower is the tulip. Love all colors.

    mbarri7@me.com

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    1. Thank you for coming by. I've never seen the flaming tulips but I'd love to!

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  13. Oh my goodness, I bet they bring a lot of joy when they peek through the ground! I never thought about them looking happy but I believe you are right, they do! Thanks for coming by. :o)

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  14. I loved Shattered Memories so would love to read Sword of Foregiveness. I love lilacs the most of all flowers.
    Thereadmaster@me.com

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  15. Hello Virginia! I'm thrilled you loved Shattered Memories. :o) I love lilacs too, but I rarely see them anymore. After talking with all you ladies I think I'm going to see if I can buy lilac bushes and plant them. Thank you so much for coming by. Good luck!

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  16. I love roses because they remind me of love in all shapes and forms. truckredford *at*gmail(dot)com

    I tweeted as well.https://twitter.com/eliza_elliott/status/740683507987537921

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    1. Thank you for twitting!! I love the roses that open up so perfect! It seems like many times they never open up. I always feel cheated. LOL Thanks for sharing, Eliza.

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  17. Tulips are my fav I love the variations in color and how they come back year after year. I enjoyed the history you told about the Tulips. Thanks for the giveaway. carlaganell(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Hey Carla! I'm so glad to see some tulip lovers read today's post. Thanks for sharing and good luck in the giveaway!

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  18. Tulips are my fav I love the variations in color and how they come back year after year. I enjoyed the history you told about the Tulips. Thanks for the giveaway. carlaganell(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Thanks for coming by Carla. I love flowers but when I don't have to replant them that is always a plus for that flower! Good luck!

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  19. I very much enjoyed reading your story about Tulips. I wonder if the person who wrote the song, "Tiptoe through the Tulips" with me got their information.
    Being from the South, my favorite flower would be the Gardenia. The smell reminds me of the perfume my Grandmother would wear.
    Janet E.
    von1janet(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Gardenia's are my mom's favorite flower. I can't see one or smell one without thinking of her! They are so very fragrant. The man who wrote Tiptoe through the Tulips was written by Joe Burke in 1929, but I don't know why he wrote it.

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  20. One of my favorite flowers is the Evening Primrose. At dusk when it is just about to open and bloom, it begins to quiver and gently shake, slowly unfolding in all its glory. It is like watching a time-lapse video! It is truly beautiful and amazing to watch....such a picture of God's miraculous creativity in nature.

    I also would LOVE to read (and WIN!) your book, Shattered Memories. I find the storyline totally captivating....Olivia's amnesia and Drew's race with the wedding clock to either help her remember or win her heart again before she marries the wrong man....it just oozes with suspense and romance...a lethal combination :) Then when Olivia starts to regain some of her memories, she has to keep up a charade until she can find out the truth behind the embezzlement of her family’s business while evading the danger lurking around her....oh, I can't wait to read it!!! It sounds like a real goody! Thanks for the opportunity of this giveaway, Debbie!!!

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    1. Oops! I forgot to leave my email:

      nj(dot)bossman(at)gmail(dot)com

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    2. You had me laughing! I hope you win. If you don't win here watch my FB page. I always advertise on there when I'm doing a giveaway. Now you have me so curious about the Primrose. I'm going to google it after I finish writing this! It sounds amazing. I may have to have 2 favorite flowers.

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    3. Oh my goodness, I found it on you tube. That is soooo cool! I love it.

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  21. One spring my husband and I took a trip to Washington state. I will never forget the spectacular sight of acres and acres of tulip fields. It will always stick in my memory--the squared off fields growing by color. Amazing!

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    1. Thank you for sharing that, Kay. I bet that was breathtaking! Isn't God's handy work just amazing? Thanks for coming by.

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    2. Yes, God's creation is beyond description. I can't even imagine what heaven will be like.

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  22. Wow! What a history! Thanks for sharing.
    My favorite flower is the English Rose. sweets_729(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Hello A.M. Thank you for coming by. I love the rose. Well, I think my problem is I love way too many flowers. LOL> Good luck!

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  23. And the winner is A.M. Heath! I'll be contacting you shortly.

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