The flowering tree on this bedcover is perched on a grassy mound with small flowers. The tree is covered in stylized European garden flowers with large curly leaves, similar to those on embroidery from the 1600s. The flower vases in the inner corners are in the style of Dutch masters’ paintings. The flowers depicted include the following:

1) tulip Tulipa sp.; native from southwest Europe and North Africa to Central Asia and western China. Flower and petal shape in tulips varies from narrow and pointed, to ruffled or fringed, to the broad, round-tipped form that is commonly planted today. The tulip, first cultivated in Iran in the 1200s, was brought to Europe from Turkey in the mid-1500s. Within 100 years, the demand in Holland for rare multi-coloured tulips—during a period known as Tulipomania—was so great, it caused its economy to crash in 1639. At that time, a single tulip bulb sold for 13,000 guilders, the equivalent of one million Canadian dollars in today’s currency.

2) crown anemone Anemone coronaria; native to the Mediterranean region. Anemones are believed to have been brought to western Europe by the Crusaders in the 1100s. By the 1700s, it was a popular cut flower, with many double-petaled forms.

3) rose Rosa sp.; origin of cultivated rose unknown. Roses have been cultivated for millennia. In 1724, more than 29 different varieties were being grown in the Chelsea Physic Garden in London. On textiles, both flowers and buds are typically shown.