LADY BUG: DAFFODILS, TULIPS BRIGHTEN SPRING GARDENS

No people on earth love flower bulbs more than the Dutch. In the Netherlands, where bulbs were first commercially produced more than 400 years ago, bulbs aren't only an important industry, but a national passion. It is appropriate that this tiny country should be home to the world's largest garden devoted to spring flowering bulbs.

For the past two weeks this column has been devoted to minor bulbs, then daffodils and this week the many species of tulips and hyacinths to conclude the spring flowering bulb series.

Each spring, the famous Keukenkof garden in Lisse, Holland, features more than 6 million tulips, daffodils, crocuses and just about any hardy bulb there is, on 70 acres of expertly sculptured park land.

At Keukenkof in the spring there are seas of tulips of every imaginable hue, vast plantings of naturalized stands of narcissi in woodlands along banks of canals, rock gardens dotted with delicate species of miniature daffodils and other minor bulbs.

Darwin hybrid tulips are the largest ones and those with the strongest stems. They are good for forcing or bedding and for cutting.

Triumph tulips are best for forcing or for short-term bedding.

Parrot tulips are very showy for bedding, and have feather-like flowers with heavy flower heads. They like protection from wind and strong weather.

Peony flowering double late tulips are good for bedding and excellent for cut flowers.

Lily flowered tulips have long reflexed petals on strong stems. They are very graceful flowers and are rather late to flower.

Gregei are perennial tulips with lovely purple mottled foliage that stays attractive after the flowers are gone.

Single late garden tulips in a rainbow of colors are short-term bedding flowers.

Fringed tulips are a novelty. They are late blooming and have long lasting flowers.

Fosteriana flowers are one of the best for naturalizing and forcing. They bloom along with daffodils.

Multiflowering tulips are a real novelty with three to five blooms per stem.

Kaufmanniana tulips are short and have mid-sized blooms that open like a star. They are excellent for rock gardens.

Specie tulips often have one coloration outside and another inside. They are happier if left undisturbed to naturalize.

There are more than 3,500 hybrids and species tulips groups in the Netherlands.

The flower hyacinth may have found its name in a tale of jealousy and blood. According to an ancient Greek legend, a handsome young man, named Hyakinthos was favored by two powerful gods, Apollo and Zephyr. One day as Apollo instructed Hyakinthos in the art of discus throwing, Zephyr, the god of the west wind, became so jealous he blew the discus off course, causing it to strike the young man's head, killing him. From his blood sprang a lovely flower that bears his name -- hyacinth.

The hyacinth legend is probably not a true hyacinth because the flower is not native to Greece. In fact, the myth may not even be the true source of the word hyacinth, for in the Bible the description of the Lily-of-the-Valley may have been a hyacinth, some say.

The hyacinth was discovered about the same time as the tulip, around 1600. For hundreds of years, the hyacinth was hardly noticed because its flowers weren't attractive, but they had outstanding colors and a fragrance that was sweet.

In later years after patient and time-consuming hybridizing, better varieties were developed. In the 18th century, high class varieties were introduced with flowers that stood erect on their stems, deeper colors and high fragrance, and the hyacinth became one of the top six fashion flowers.

Their sweet fragrance announces spring has come. With their stiff, stately packed flowerettes, hyacinths have the richest colors in the garden. They are most effective when planted near a walkway and in front of taller daffodils and tulips. Sometimes it takes no more than 10 bulbs to make a good showing.

Dutch hybridizers have given us fat, spectacular blooms that stand straight and tall. Some popular ones are Delft's Blue (china blue), Blue Jacket (purplish blue), Jan Bos (red), Pink Pearl (deep pink), Queen of the Pinks (light pink), City of Haarlem (creamy yellow), Carnegie (white), and Gypsy Queen (orange.)

All bulbs benefit from cutting the flowers. Seed production is stopped. Energy is conserved for next season's bloom. Be careful, however to take as few leaves as possible.

Planting for a continuous sequence of bloom is the key to a brilliant flower display from late fall right into winter. As one planting begins to fade, another will be starting to show color. The exact time when bulbs will flower depends on many factors as explained in most catalogs.