| 
Tulips!
Tulip Fever
.focus())
Tulip fever can do strange things to a gardener. Consider the case of Jerold Binkley. When he moved to a new home in Topeka, Kansas, in 1969, he planted 500 tulip bulbs in his 3 1/2-acre yard.
The following spring, the tulips looked . . . well, lost. "You couldn't even see the tulips," he recalls.
So the next fall, he upped the tulip ante to 2,500. It still wasn't enough. He needed more. And his tulip fixation was officially underway. "They're just such a welcome relief from the drab of winter. They brighten everyone's spirits," he says.
Today, Jerold has about 30,000 tulips popping up everywhere. It's almost enough for him.
.focus())
Jerold and wife Joan.
To visitors, the yard is everything a spring bulb garden should be. Rich layers of color surge between pathways. There's also a split-rail fence, and little structures that draw your eye. Horizontal limbs of redbud, peach and cherry trees bloom above the display in hot pink, rosy red and white.
But Jerold sees what's missing. "It's our second-worst year ever," he laments. A late frost took out a section.
He wants more blooms. In more places. Tulips can do that to a person.
.focus())
The colors alone are infectious. You want impact? Blast off with red. A soft look? Flow with pink. Prefer to mix and match? Anything goes. When you see tulips against a clear, blue sky, your soul can't help but rejoice. The bulbs needed the winter's cold to bloom; now comes the payoff!
The thrill of tulips is something that Jerold and his wife, Joan, eagerly share. Every spring for the past 16 years they've opened their yard to thousands of visitors for an event called Tulip Time. Jerold foots the bill for 40 kinds of tulips and 40 kinds of daffodils, buying them from Dutch wholesalers. All proceeds from the admission fees go to the Topeka Beautification Association, for projects such as a new public garden at nearby Lake Shawnee.
"I probably spend as much money on my yard as we raise in admission fees," Jerold admits.
"I could just hand them the money."
But he doesn't. He plants more tulips.
