A trip overseas 20 years ago was when Kathleen Compton saw tulips and decided she wanted some of her own.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Her husband John has lived up to the saying 'happy wife, happy life' and outdone himself planting tulip beds at their South Bowenfels home for two decades.
"We went overseas one year and somebody saw tulips out and decided she wanted some, you've gotta keep the boss happy," John joked.
The couple who have lived in the same house for over 40 years have taken great pride in their gardening, with John growing around 6,000 tulips and 50 different types.
"The beds were meant to be veggie plots but two or three tulips just expanded and expanded so they became tulip plots," Kathleen said.
Tulips are planted around Mother's Day in late Autumn and come up in Spring, John said.
"They vary from 90 to 120 days to come out depending on the weather," he said.
Kathleen said she had taken photos from year-to-year and noticed a couple of weeks difference, but generally September was the month for tulips.
John said he purchased his standard bulbs from Bunnings and the exotic ones from Table Cape Tulip Farm in Tasmania.
"We have a few different colours, red, yellow, pink and ones that look like they've been painted red and white," John said.
"I have them in rows so I know exactly what's where when I'm digging them up. I made a mistake accidentally and mixed red and yellow, I knew I did it but I wasn't going to dig it up."
Kathleen said it was lovely to see the different types of tulips come out at different times.
"It's quite lovely to have a few different colours going on," she said.
"We have ones that have grown really tall which surprises people who know gardens and some of the different colours you can see."
John has put hundreds of hours into growing his tulips and replants them each year, something Kathleen was very grateful of.
"He puts in a lot of work, preparing the soil, the planting, the looking after them then digging them up when they all die down and storing them in a cool dry place ready for the next planting," she said.
"But it's nice to see them come up and it's a rewarding thing, I love seeing them in the garden," John responded.
Kathleen said some people thought they sold their tulips but she said it was more of a hobby.
"We don't sell them, we just enjoy them and you know, John will give bulbs to people who want them," she said.
She was certain her husband would continue growing tulips into the future.
"I don't think he's over this, I don't think he's finished plus the veggie garden is starting to take shape too," she said.
"It's also been a lovely thing to do during lockdown, that we have our garden," John said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: