Best tulip varieties – my 5 favourites as a gardens editor

If I had to pick a favourite spring flower, tulips might just take the lead – they’re breathtakingly beautiful in the garden, a bouquet, and a vase.

It’s almost the perfect time to plant tulip bulbs, and to celebrate, I decided to work up a list of my all-time favourite tulip varieties. Dramatic colour schemes, elegant silhouettes and unusual petal formations will always win me over, but the varieties I’ve chosen are the ones I’d recommend to any gardener, seasoned or new.

Of course, it was difficult to narrow it down to a list of just five – but below, you’ll find the tulip varieties I’m most excited to plant this year.