Vincent van Gogh’s Flower Beds in Holland is anoil on canvas (19-1/4x26 inches) housed in theNational Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Flower Beds in Holland by Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh painted Flower Beds in Holland in 1883. The painting is an early example of van Gogh’s approach to landscapes.

During his second year in The Hague, van Gogh painted this small but luminous view of tulip fields in blossom. The foreground of his composition, observed from a low position, seems to rise sharply, accentuating the low horizon in a panoramic effect. The thatched cottages and bare tree trunks in the distance are engulfed in somber shadow, a striking contrast to the bright colors of the flower beds. These elements -- raked perspective and tonal contrast -- persisted in Vincent's conception of landscape painting.

Tulip:

The tulip is the most popular of the spring-flowering bulbs. It also offers the greatest variety in color, shape, and form of any bulb. Although tulips are associated with Holland, they actually are not native there; tulips descend mostly from species originating in the Middle East.
Tulips are the world's most popular spring bulb flowers.

Description of tulip:

Tulips typically bear cup-shaped flowers in almost every shade but true blue. They can be double or single, fringed or twisted, perfumed or nonscented. The plants range in size from rock garden miniatures to 2 1/2 feet or more in height. Most have broad leaves that quickly fade away in summer heat. Individual flowers last barely two weeks. However, since tulips offer various flowering seasons, you can have tulips in bloom from snow melt to the beginning of summer.

Ease of care: Easy.
Growing tulip: Plant bulbs 5 to 8 inches deep (less for tiny species tulips) and 4 to 6 inches apart in a sunny, well-drained area. Plant in fall, then water well. Divide bulbs every few years when flowering diminishes. Tulips need a period of cool weather to bloom. For that reason, pre-cooled bulbs are available for winter planting in warmer zones. These should be treated as annuals and replaced yearly.

Propagating tulip: By division.
Uses for tulip: Cut flowers, forcing, beds, and borders. Species tulips are ideal for naturalizing.
Tulip related varieties: Hybrid tulips are divided into various categories: early tulips, with large flowers on 10- to 14-inch plants; midseason tulips, both medium-high Triumph and the tall, giant-flowered Darwin hybrids; and late tulips, mostly consisting of tall-growing tulips with large flowers. Most species tulips bloom in early spring, often before the earliest hybrid tulips. Species tulips include T. greigii, T. kaufmanniana, and T. tarda.

Scientific name of tulip: Tulipa species

Tulips are among the most popular spring flowers of all time, and it's no wonder. They are easy to grow, they come in an incredible variety of colours, heights, and flower shapes, and some are even fragrant. There are now over 3,000 different registered varieties of cultivated tulips.
Every year billions of tulips are cultivated. The majority are grown and exported from Holland. However, millions of tulips are also grown all over the world.
Most tulips are adaptable to many different kinds of climates. The only thing to be careful of is to plant them in fairly well-drained soil. If not, the bulbs may rot before they have a chance to establish a root system. Otherwise, just plant and enjoy.
Most tulips bloom well for only one or two years. Therefore, you will probably want to dig up the bulbs and put in new ones after two years. However, some types of tulips do well for several more years. These are said to perennialize (or naturalize) well.

The primary bulb species used for gardens and landscapes include: true bulbs, corms, tubers, tuberous roots, rhizomes, and enlarged hypocotyls. All are "Geophytes" and, collectively, they are commonly called "Flower Bulbs". Although each specialized storage organ is morphologically different, their basic function is to serve as an organ for survival of the species.

Flower Bed

The Flower Bed
Flower gardening is the horticulturist's reward for hard work. Flowers and flower borders provide color against the predominant green of a landscape. They are the accent and contrast that make a landscape lively and interesting. Flowers also complement most of the features that conventional landscaping materials, such as trees and shrubs, establish. They can add depth and dimension, form and texture, and change heights and slopes, besides their most obvious asset which is color. Flowers can also be useful, providing culinary herbs for the table and cut flowers for arrangements.

FLOWER BED: PLANNING THE FLOWER BORDER

Much of the excitement of creating an herbaceous border lies in its great flexibility of design. In form, placement, and selection of plants, the contemporary border follows few rigid rules and allows fullest expression of the gardener's taste.
The first step in planning the material for an all-season, mixed perennial border is to select key plants for line, mass, color, and dependability. Line is the silhouette or outline of a plant, mass is its shape or denseness, and dependability refers to its ability to remain attractive with a minimum of problems. Garden books and catalogues can be very useful for reference.
The most attractive flower borders are those which are located in front of a suitable background such as a fence, shrubbery, or a building. In some cases, tall flowers such as hollyhocks or sunflower may serve a dual purpose as flowers in the border and as background plants. Annual or perennial flowers of medium height may serve as background plants for a short border planting.
A general rule, unless the garden is very spacious or formal, is to avoid a ruler-straight front edge. A gentle to boldly sweeping curve, easily laid out with a garden hose, is best even along a fence, and the border can taper as it recedes from the main viewing point if an effect of distance is desired. The deeper the curve the slower the eye moves and the greater will be the visual enjoyment. A border outlined with bricks or flat stones set flush with the soil is better than a steeply cut lawn edge which must be trimmed after mowing.
Even the advanced gardener finds it advantageous to plan a border to scale on graph paper. The hardest task, organizing the selection of plants, will be simplified if only two main mass forms are considered: drifts and clumps. Drifts are elongated groupings of a plant that flow through sections of the border. Clumps consist of circular groupings of a variety, or a single large plant such as a peony. The length of drifts and the diameter of clumps, as well as their heights, should be varied for best effect, and the dimensions should always be in proportion to the overall size of the border.
Establish plants in groups large enough to form masses of color or texture. As a rule, five to seven plants will create the desired effect. A large delphinium or peony will be of sufficient size to be attractive, but a random collection of different small- to medium-sized plants will present a disorganized, checkerboard appearance. Each group of flowers should have an irregular shape. These masses of color and texture should blend into a pleasing pattern of color harmony. Dwarf flowers may be used as a continuous edging or border along the front of the bed.
Flower borders may be of any width, depending on the space available. In a small yard the bed may be only 2 or 3 feet wide. In a spacious location, the border planting may have a width of 6 or 8 feet. If the border is quite deep, a pathway of stepping stones may be helpful as a means of working among the flowers without compacting the soil.
Tall flowers should be selected for the back part of the bed, with medium-height species in the middle, and dwarf varieties along the front as edging plants. This is very easily done because the height of all varieties is stated in seed catalogs. Plants along the front edge of the flower bed should be located back far enough to allow easy mowing of the lawn.
Plant height is best limited to 2/3 the width of the border, e.g., no plants taller than 4 feet in a border 6 feet wide. Height lines should be broken up by letting some tall plants extend into the medium height groups, with a few recessed clumps or drifts leading the eye back into the border. This gives a more natural effect than a step profile. Try to vary heights, but in general, keep taller plants in the back and shorter ones toward the front.
The distance between plants in a flower border depends on the form of the individual plants and the effect which is desired in the landscape. Allow adequate space between plants. Many gardeners crowd their plants too much.
As a rule, the tall, spired-type flowers such as holly hock, gladiolus, and rocket snapdragons which are trained to a very few stems, should be spaced about as far apart as their mature height. Tall bushy plants may be spaced about as far apart as their mature height. Rounded, bushy annuals and perennials should be spaced about as far apart as their mature height. Creeping, groundcover-type plants may be spaced about twice as far apart as their mature height. In all cases, if a solid mass of plants is desired, the spacing may be reduced. If individual plants are to be conspicuous as specimens, and be allowed to produce large flowers, the distances should be increased.
The enormous color range in perennials, plus their easy relocation if disharmony occurs, give the gardener great latitude in choosing and combining colors. A border in tones of the same color can be effective, or several closely related colors may be used, or the border may be made wildly exuberant with a vast variety of hues in one or more seasons. Hues are modifications of color such as orangish-red. The objective is a balanced composition in every season, with no section being at any time too heavily weighted with one color, and the bloom so distributed that it always makes a pleasing pattern through the bed.
Many gardening books give excellent lists of compatible colors; these plus a garden notebook and camera are invaluable for planning and revising color schemes. For real floral artistry, it is perhaps more important to consider intensity, which is the vividness of a color, rather than hue. For example, light tones placed near dark ones, or contrasting palest tones with the most intense, can give new interest and life to the border. Also consider location and color. Near patios, white is especially good because it shows up well in the evening or dusk hours when patios are often in use. Some colors are suitable only as dramatic accents: deep, pure red clashes with almost anything (unless softened by dark green foliage), yet properly used it confers strength and depth. White flowers and gray foliage are indispensable as separators of conflicting colors.
Red, orange, and yellow are warm colors. Blue, green, and violet are cool colors. The use of warm colors in the flower border of a small yard will give the illusion of little space. Conversely, the use of cool colors gives the impression of openness and space. In general, the smaller the area, the fewer warm colors should be used.
As a gardener becomes adept at producing constant color harmony in the border, he/she becomes more aware of the roles played by plant forms and foliage. Good foliage is obviously vital in plants with short blooming periods. Consider how much of the plant foliage will be usable and whether it is a positive or negative attribute. Some plants practically disappear when their blooming season is over (i.e., oriental poppy and bleeding heart), but others stay presentable even when not in flower. Plants with distinctive forms, color, and foliage — airy and delicate, or strong and solid — are wonderfully useful for creating interest. Ornamental grasses, and even handsome-foliaged vegetables like broccoli and asparagus can be used for effect.
The most logical way to choose plants is first by location, second by period of bloom, then by height and width, and finally, by color. Location takes into account the amount of sun or shade and water required. This information is easy to find in books on perennials and in catalogs.

Dividing a flower border into bold plant groupings according to height. Background; large groups of tall plants. foreground: shallower, wide groupings of small plants
The only restrictions on any given plant will be environmental; a lack of ability to tolerate winter or summer temperature extremes; special soil, moisture; or light needs; and any limits the gardener must place on time available for maintenance.
Even in a small border, single plants of different varieties should not be used. This gives a jumbled look. Do not set in precise rows, but in groups, as they might grow in nature. Allow enough space for each group to grow comfortably. Decide which flowers you like best, and let these be the basis of your planting. Place them in several spots, if you like, down the length of the border, but don't overdo any one plant.

Selection of garden groups as to season of flowering and whether annual, biennial, or perennial.
The longer the border has flowers in bloom, the more you will enjoy it. Consider the months when each plant will be at its best. Do not confine yourself to material that blooms all at one time. Aim for a steady succession of color.
A last bit of advice: don't be afraid to be bold, even if it results in some mistakes. Flowers are easy to move, change, or take out altogether. There is no need to be conservative or confined. Flowers are fast growers and can be transplanted at almost anytime to help create the desired effect.