買回鬱金香是兩周前的事情，當時其花苞都還緊包在綠葉中，小得像一個個燈芯。雖然小，但仍可見其花色為粉玫色。 

昨天鬱金香花開了。我湊上鼻子去聞，心中一陣驚喜。那花香是甜淡的水果味，似玫瑰，帶著種不經意的誘人媚惑。這種發現就像幾年前我發現康乃馨帶香一樣，驚喜過後，隻當是偶然發現，想其事物原本就是這樣的。

今早，我再次欣賞鬱金香。它的花瓣更加打開，花形更似玫瑰。 我就想：這花不僅是色，而且形都像玫瑰。這難道隻是一種巧合嗎？會不會這是種和玫瑰嫁接後，培育出的一個新品種？如何是這樣，就可以解釋它花香似玫瑰的原因了。

我在網上搜索著，一篇“鬱金香的芬芳”的文章讓我如獲至寶！ 我如饑似渴地讀著，想著若我當時身處作者的境地，我定會做和她同樣的事情。原來鬱金香的品種眾多，但帶花香的鬱金香品種並不多。她把發現帶香味的鬱金香這件事用一個詞SERENDIPITY來表示，意指沒有準備地，意外發現了美好的事物，這代表著一種好運。我想到了小時候愛看的動畫片《花仙子》，難道這花是花仙子送來給我，是來為我帶來好運的？

我把這個發現告訴了家人。他們也說不知道有帶香的鬱金香花。說這花長得粗狀，強健。我說了我的另外一個發現： 美國的茉莉和中國的茉莉花形和色彩都像，差別隻在大小。美國的大，中國的小。這情況和百合花LILY一樣，美國的百合很多長得高到1米，花冠直徑可達15-20CM；而中國的東方百合ORIENTAL LILY株身則矮很多，花冠也小. 人有人種，花有花種，說到底，對於造物主來說，人與花並沒區別。

There’s a word for the happy and all-too-rare phenomenon of unexpectedly finding something delightful: serendipity. It applies perfectly to a discovery I made one sunny May morning a few years back. I was on my knees in the garden, reveling in the delight of digging in the loamy earth after a long Vermont winter. As I was puttering around, I noticed a wonderfully subtle, fruity fragrance. Its source was a mystery, but the scent was so enticing I determined to track it down. Finally I found it in, of all places, the open bloom of a tulip. I never knew there was any such thing as a sweet-smelling tulip, but the proof was right under my nose. Not only was the flower seductively fragrant, its peachy-pink color was outstanding and its form simply exquisite. Serendipity indeed.

That’s how I found ‘Apricot Beauty’, my “first” fragrant tulip. That discovery marked the beginning of an ongoing, delightful search that has led me to a score or so of sweetly scented tulips.

A few fragrant favorites

As a gardener by both profession and passion, I plant about 10,000 tulips a year, so I’ve experimented with all kinds of species and hybrids. There are thousands of varieties, with an almost infinite array of colors, but very few are fragrant. Of the 100 or so cultivars I plant each spring, only 5 or 6 have any scent at all. Tulips range from the small, hardy species tulips often used in rock gardens, to the tall, majestic Darwin Hybrids that are the backbone of the perennial border in spring. But of all the tulip’s wonderful qualities, the most special one, to me, is fragrance. And though there are a few fragrant species tulips, I’ve concentrated on seeking out sweet-smelling hybrids and cultivars.

‘Apricot Beauty’ can perfume a whole room. It excels in the garden or in a vase, and is easy to force for indoor blooms.

I’ve planted new ‘Apricot Beauty’ bulbs every fall since I first discovered them. This cultivar excels in the garden and makes a superb cut flower. One vase of ‘Apricot Beauty’ will perfume a whole room. For winter blooms, I also pot a few bulbs up every year for indoor forcing.

Like most fragrant tulips, ‘Generaal de Wet’ is an early-blooming variety. And—also like most fragrant tulips—its petals are quite tasty and can be used in salads.

Like ‘Apricot Beauty’, most fragrant tulip cultivars are early-blooming varieties. I guess they are Mother Nature’s way of tempting sleepy bees to wake from winter’s sleep. These early, fragrant tulips include both single- and double-flowered types. Some of my favorite singles include ‘Generaal de Wet’, a wonderful, softly blushed orange tulip; ‘Prinses Irene’ (often sold as ‘Princess Irene’), another sweet-smelling orange flower; and ‘Couleur Cardinal’, a beautiful, dark-red flower with a violet blush and a light, sweet scent.

Some of the early, double-flowered tulips are not only fragrant, but also boast flowers as fulsome as any peony. Of these, I like the yellow ‘Mr. van der Hoef’; ‘Electra’, a pinkish-red beauty; and ‘Schoonoord’, a lovely pure white.

I’ve also discovered a few fragrant tulips that appear a little later in the season—a few mid-season Darwin Hybrid tulips caught my attention this past year, when I discovered two new varieties to add to my list of fragrant favorites. ‘Silverstream’ is a pale, cream color with a fine, sweet scent and leaves edged with pink. ‘Holland’s Glory’ is another standout—it sports huge, orange-red blossoms on strong, 2-foot-tall stems. Darwin Hybrids are the tulips that are most likely to return for several years to bloom again in your garden.