My double early tulips are out, and I think they are pretty darn nice. Sure, they are a little shorter than they should be, and my two colors have, predictably, failed to bloom in concert. But I'm still giving myself an A. They are a lot better than last year's show.
To all of the above I would add: never, ever, plant late-blooming tulips. "Late-blooming" in central North Carolina means mid to late April, when it's not unusual to have unusually hot weather. Tulips hate hot weather. Generally I go with mid-season, but this time I opted for the early blooming variety. These carry their own risks; last night, for instance, the temperature dipped to 25 degrees. But cold beats hot where tulips are concerned.
"Foxtrot," which began opening last week, is frilly and fabulous. It starts off almost white, with some faint yellow coloring, then matures to a multi-hued pink. I would never wear it, but I love it in my garden. "Mondial," which is opening now, has the same style bloom as "Foxtrot," except it's pure white. Yes, in an ideal world the two would have bloomed simultaneously, but we don't live in an ideal world. I'm satisfied with overlap.