Lucy Pitts in Conversation with Head Gardener at Arundel Castle, Martin Duncan
What is so special about tulips, I want to know in advance of the spectacular Arundel Castle Tulip Festival. Martin’s answer is simple, they bring you joy.
And if you’ve ever been to Arundel Castle Tulip Festival, you’ll know that it is an unashamedly glorious and joyous celebration of colour, nature and spring, the like of which you’re unlikely to find anywhere else nearby. In fact, on a grey day, in advance of the festival, the joy tulips bring feels tangible and I can feel my spirits lifting as we discuss banks of red, pots of abundant colour and great clusters of gold.
Martin appears to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the many thousands of tulip varieties, as well as of tulip history and how to bring out the best in the 1.4 million tulip bulbs that have been planted within the grounds and gardens of Arundel Castle over the course of the last 12 years. Fabulous names like the Foxy Foxtrot, Black Parrott, Angelique and Ile de France (in Cardinal Red no less) trip off his tongue. His joy at the prosect of the festival is tangible too.
The history of tulips
As Martin explains, the history of tulips dates back over a thousand years when they grew as wildflowers in Asia. First cultivated by the Turks, the Turkish Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent (who reigned from 1520 to 1566), filled his palace gardens with tulips and they became an important symbol of wealth, often embroidered into clothing.
From there, tulips gradually made their way to Europe, first arriving in Bavaria in 1559 and then at the Vienna Imperial Botanical Gardens in 1573 (according to the Amsterdam Tulip Museum). By the 17th century, Tulip Mania in Holland had taken hold and reached its peak between 1636-1637 when a bulb could be traded on the stock exchange for the equivalent value of a reasonable house (or 10 years of a carpenter’s wages).
The tulips of Arundel
When Martin arrived at Arundel Castle in 2009, there were about 3,000 tulips already but it’s under his stewardship that the Arundel Castle Tulip Festival has evolved into one of Europe’s premier tulip festivals that sees 40,000 visitors each year with many travelling from around the world. He explains that work on each festival starts well in advance and planning for 2026 is already underway. With a display that consists of over 110,00 bulbs, the team has planted over 75,000 bulbs for this year and the displays will include over 120 tulip varieties and a mixture of classic and new tulips such as the Daydream, Ballerina and Monsella.
As you might expect, every year the aim is to produce something different in terms of new varieties and displays. Martin warns me that this year visitors should prepare for what he hopes will be the wow factor of the 30,000 tulips planted on the castle banks. This will be the first wave of colour that greets you as you come through the gates and round the corner to the foot of the castle.
In the landscape areas, Martin explains they go for a more informal look, planting bulbs where they land and inter planting them with other spring flowers like snake’s head fritillaries, narcissus and snowdrops. And this year, he explains, as you walk up from the entrance you’ll be surrounded by banks of flowers, moving from Oxford Red, to purple flowers woven through the landscape and splashes of Golden Oxford. This is in contrast to the slightly more formal pots and displays in The Collector Earl’s Garden.
Highlights and hues
I ask Martin for his favourite tulip or display but he struggles to single anything specific out as he clearly loves them all. He recommends a visit to the Antler Temple where they have now gold leafed all the antlers and where you’ll find a carpet of moss as well as clusters of hops and lavender.
He also recommends the six cakes (multi-tiered arrangements showcasing more than 6,000 tulips) in the Wildflower Garden, and The Stumpery (designed in 2012/13) and this year, filled with tulips from places like Turkey as a reflection of the bulb’s long history.
We talk briefly about the best way to plant and grow tulips and Martin explains that of course, it’s not as simple as planting the bulbs in late November and December and then hoping for the best. At this stage of the game (late February), the team is busy watering, checking for pests and watching the weather. The date of the festival remains uncertain.
Our conversation turns back to pink, peony-shaped Angeliques, bold Blue Diamonds and the fiery reds and oranges of Olympic Flames as well as the tropical garden and English herbaceous borders. I’ve got photos from my last visit to the festival in front of me, and I can feel the joy that the utter abundance of extravagant and chaotic colour gave me on that occasion. The festival is sensory opulence at it’s very best and I’ll be watching the weather and waiting for the festival dates to be revealed.
Top tip. Arrive as early as you can and try and choose a sunny day.
The Tulip Festival at Arundel Castle will take place in April, but due to the unpredictability of when the bulbs will flower, visitors are encouraged to check Arundel Castle’s social media channels or website to find out when the tulip festival is ready to avoid disappointment. Garden tickets are priced from £16 per adult and £7.50 per child (excl. Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Sunday). Children under five years old can enter for free.
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