Why is the Daisy the Netherlands' national flower, not the Tulip?
Tulips are inextricably associated with the Netherlands — the country exports billions of bulbs annually and millions of tourists visit its flower fields every spring. But when the Dutch were asked to vote for their national flower in 2023, they chose the daisy instead. The reasoning is telling: tulips came from Turkey and Central Asia; daisies are genuinely native to the Netherlands, growing wild in meadows, lawns and roadsides across the country. The vote was seen as a choice between what the Netherlands sells to the world and what actually belongs to it.
The tulip's place in Dutch culture
The tulip arrived in the Netherlands from Ottoman Turkey in the late 16th century and triggered "Tulipomania" in the 1630s — one of the first recorded speculative bubbles in economic history. Bulbs were traded for extraordinary sums before the market crashed. Despite the collapse, the Dutch had found their horticultural vocation. Today the Netherlands produces around 4.3 billion cut flowers annually and is the world's largest flower exporter, with tulips still its most iconic product.
Growing daisies in the UK
The common daisy (Bellis perennis) is a native British wildflower — it almost certainly grows in your lawn already. For garden use, the double-flowered cultivars (Bellis perennis 'Pompette', 'Tasso') make attractive spring bedding plants, producing dense pompom flowers in pink, red and white from late winter through to early summer. Grow in any well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. Deadhead regularly to prolong flowering. They self-seed freely and can become invasive if allowed to set seed, but individual plants are easily pulled.
Tulips in UK gardens
If you want to bring Dutch tulip culture to your UK garden, plant bulbs in November in well-drained soil in full sun. Avoid heavy clay — improve with grit or plant in raised beds. The bold Darwin Hybrid varieties are reliable perennialisers; most standard bedding tulips perform best treated as annuals, lifted and dried after flowering each year. Species tulips (Tulipa greigii, kaufmanniana) are the most reliably perennial and closest to the wild originals that captivated the Dutch four centuries ago.