Did You Know? Tulips Are Like Onions

In honor of one of the few flowers soon to bloom here in Minnesota despite our repeated snow covered mornings, I thought I would share a bit of trivia about tulips. 

Contrary to popular belief, tulips are not native to Holland. The flowers originated in South Central Asia in what is now Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. The name tulip is thought to come from the Turkish word "dulband" which means turban which the tulip flower is thought to resemble. Dulband is translated to "tulipa" in Latin. 

In 1636-37, Holland had "Tulipmania" where the price of a single bulb was more than the cost of a house at the time. Rare bulbs were sold for exorbitant sums (up to $100,000 by today's standards) and to have tulip bulbs at your home was as impressive as having say, a Ferrari today. Eventually, thousands of tulips varieties were brought to market and there was a "Tulip Crash". Yet, tulip cultivation still remains a large part of the Dutch culture. 

Tulips are unique in that the flower stems will keep growing after they are cut. Snip a couple of stems from your garden and put them in a vase of water. The stems will grow up to an inch or more. Cut tulips don't need any special care in a vase except lots and lots of water. They are thirsty plants and need water added every day. 

Lastly, if you're in a pinch, tulip bulbs can be used in place of onions. Which is interesting but mostly irrelevant. Who has more tulip bulbs than onions? I guess if your tulips have gone awry, which they tend to do after several years of multiplying, it might be a good way to cull down the tulip bed. 

Did You Know? Cucumbers ARE Cool

We've all heard the expression "cool as a cucumber". Turns out that the statement is much more than an expression. On a warm day, the inside of a cucumber on the vine can measure as much as 20 degrees cooler than the outside air. This is due largely to its high water content. 

The cucumber's high water content is also one of its main nutritional values as adding cucumbers to a meal is an easy way to increase both water and fiber intake. And they taste good!

Another cooling property of cucumbers is that they contain ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, which are known to soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. So cucumbers on swollen eyes? Actually effective! 

For more information about the properties and nutrition of cucumbers, check out WHFoods: Cucumbers.