The beautiful flowers above are not from our garden. Tulips (Tulipa sp.) aren't a semi-arid, hot climate type of plant, but they still seem like the perfect symbol of early spring. In order to get tulips to bloom each year, the dormant bulbs need a period of very cold weather, or they have to be removed from the garden and placed in the refrigerator for an extended period. I have only found one variety of tulip bulb that actually naturalizes to our searing summers and non-existent winters. It is not nearly as striking in appearance as the large-petal showy blooms in the other two of these photos, but it has a certain charm when it pokes up with its dainty little flowers. The two blossoms pictured at right are only about six inches off the ground. They bloom in early March and completely die back a couple of weeks later. Since we don't have to dig up the bulbs and give them the deep freeze treatment, it is easy to forget where they are among all the other plants. I've sometimes accidentally dug up the little bulbs when adding to the garden but it doesn't seem to hurt them. They invariably reappear each spring, never growing very large and only occasionally splitting into more bulbs. Rather than a showy display bed of color, our tiny tulips are a subtle surprise in a quiet corner of the garden.