0:00:03 > 0:00:08Of the 420,000 flowering plants on our planets,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12only a fraction of them have entranced us enough
0:00:12 > 0:00:16for us to bring them in from the wild and grow them in our gardens.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23But many of the plants we know and love today
0:00:23 > 0:00:26look totally different from their ancestors.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Evolution and mankind have conspired
0:00:30 > 0:00:34to shape a multitude of diverse forms.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37How spectacular!
0:00:40 > 0:00:41This is my plant odyssey.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44I love that one.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48This is one of a kind. This is the only one in the world.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51I'm going to trace some of our favourite plants...
0:00:52 > 0:00:55..from their earliest origins
0:00:55 > 0:00:57and, through their captivating stories,
0:00:57 > 0:01:03reveal why they have such significance in our culture...
0:01:03 > 0:01:04Oh, it's glorious!
0:01:04 > 0:01:07..and such a special place in our hearts.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17I'm looking at one of the world's best-loved flowers,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21with its kaleidoscopic range of colours
0:01:21 > 0:01:24and its distinctive goblet-shaped blooms.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28It's a familiar sight,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32and yet its subtle sheen
0:01:32 > 0:01:35and its mysterious interior
0:01:35 > 0:01:40give it an intriguing, almost mystical persona.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41The tulip!
0:01:46 > 0:01:51With its seemingly infinite variety of shapes, colours and forms,
0:01:51 > 0:01:57it's little wonder that the tulip has catapulted itself
0:01:57 > 0:02:02into the centre of the gardening stage and into our hearts.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10But where did the first tulips come from?
0:02:10 > 0:02:15How did they change so dramatically in less than 600 years?
0:02:15 > 0:02:20And why did a handful of flowers almost bankrupt a country?
0:02:22 > 0:02:24My tulip odyssey takes me to Turkey.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I'll travel from the snow-capped mountains in the east
0:02:28 > 0:02:32to the exotic palaces of the sultans in the west.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Even the whole dome is like an enormous tulip.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42I'll retrace the tulip's voyage from Constantinople to Holland.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45This is so exciting.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49On a journey that explores the bizarre and exotic history
0:02:49 > 0:02:52of this enigmatic flower.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59My odyssey begins in the remote mountains of eastern Turkey.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04I'm on the hunt for a species tulip,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08one of the early ancestors of the tulips we know and love.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15They evolved in landscapes like these
0:03:15 > 0:03:20across Central Asia around 30 million years ago.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28I've come a long way, but I would have come from the ends of the Earth
0:03:28 > 0:03:31just to see this beautiful tulip.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36This is the very first species tulip I have ever seen.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41It's Tulipa armena.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45It grows all through this rough old ground,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48and so perfect, so beautiful.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51You look at the soil and you think, "How could anything live like that?"
0:03:51 > 0:03:55but, of course, this is a tulip that's perfectly adapted
0:03:55 > 0:03:59and evolved with its situation and its setting.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Its short, thick stem and tightly wrapped petals
0:04:03 > 0:04:07allow this tulip to cope with the constant buffeting
0:04:07 > 0:04:09of the mountain winds.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13If modern tulips with their more slender stems
0:04:13 > 0:04:17and their folds of delicate petals were planted here
0:04:17 > 0:04:20they'd never survive the battering.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26But Tulipa armena is made of sterner stuff.
0:04:28 > 0:04:29It's a bulb.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33It lives under the ground all through those cold, cold winters.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35They are cold, we're high up here.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42I've always taken bulbs for granted, but inside they're a marvel.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49The layers are embryonic leaves, each packed with energy.
0:04:52 > 0:04:58Over winter, the bulb lies dormant, saving this reserve
0:04:58 > 0:05:02for a single glorious moment - the first snow melt.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09As the water seeps into the ground, something stirs.
0:05:12 > 0:05:18Safe at the heart of the bulb is the secret behind the tulip's success -
0:05:18 > 0:05:21a miniature clone of a parent.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26The energy in these layers is rapidly broken down
0:05:26 > 0:05:31to provide the surge needed for this tiny clone
0:05:31 > 0:05:34to burst up through the soil and bloom.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Up it comes, these beautiful crinkled leaves.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51They're completely unlike most of the tulips we grow in our garden.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53They're not crinkled just because it looks nice,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56they're crinkled for a purpose.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01It's partly to retain moisture and, also, if the leaf was flattened out,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04then the sun would beat down on it, so it protects the leaves.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08It needs all the nutrition it can get from those leaves
0:06:08 > 0:06:11until this flower has been pollinated.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17This is the tulips' ultimate goal.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22But attracting a pollinator isn't always easy in mountains like these.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Their bright red, bulbous flowers have evolved
0:06:27 > 0:06:30to act as beacons to passing insects.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37But these flowers offer the bees more than just a meal.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Our thermal cameras reveal something remarkable -
0:06:41 > 0:06:45a hidden microclimate inside the bloom,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49around five degrees warmer than the temperature outside.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52In this pocket of warm air,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56the insects are protected from the harsh mountain elements.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02They can safely and comfortably relax and gorge themselves
0:07:02 > 0:07:05without their flight muscles getting too cold.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09The bees will often spend the whole night
0:07:09 > 0:07:12cosily ensconced inside the flower
0:07:12 > 0:07:16before leaving the next morning covered in the plant's pollen.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22I just think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Compare this to the tulips we grow in our garden.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30You can see the similarities, and at the same time you can tell
0:07:30 > 0:07:35that this is a species plant, this is how nature intended it to be.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Seeing these tulips in the wild is exciting,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43but it leaves me with more questions -
0:07:43 > 0:07:48how did the tulip escape the isolation of these mountains
0:07:48 > 0:07:53and become one of the world's most celebrated flowers?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I need to head west to find the answer.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03Across the centuries, many famous names
0:08:03 > 0:08:08have travelled the silk routes from Central Asia to the West.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Marco Polo, Genghis Kahn, Alexander the Great,
0:08:13 > 0:08:18they all passed through the city destined to become the epicentre
0:08:18 > 0:08:20of the tulip world -
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Istanbul.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Look how colourful these spices are.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- How are you?- I'm very well. All the better for seeing all this.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Manchester, yes. I'm from Manchester.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39It's just... I can't describe it. It's so atmospheric.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43You just feel that you're at the confluence of all these
0:08:43 > 0:08:46different cultures, you can feel the history.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50You can imagine the sorts of adventures that took place.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51It looks delightful.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52Very, very nice.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56No calories.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57No calories.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02You can just feel that whole sort of sensation
0:09:02 > 0:09:06that this has been such an important place for so many different people.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12It's believed to be the Seljuk tribe who, in the 11th century,
0:09:12 > 0:09:17stuffed tulips into their saddlebags alongside their spices and silks,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20and brought them to Istanbul.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Look, look, look. Look at the tulips. Come on.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Isn't that beautiful?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Look, look at this.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35They're tulips, yes? Lovely.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43For centuries, the tulip has been a Turkish icon.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48It's still regarded here as the embodiment of beauty and perfection.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57This is the Rustem Pasha Mosque, and within these walls
0:09:57 > 0:10:00is convincing evidence of the importance of a certain plant
0:10:00 > 0:10:03to the Ottoman Empire.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11I'm about to enter what can only be described as tulip mecca.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28It's so silent.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31It's so holy.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Every inch of these walls is just covered in these beautiful tiles
0:10:42 > 0:10:44and such glowing colours.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46The more you look at them,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48the more tulips you see...everywhere.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Even the whole dome is like an enormous tulip.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Look here.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17The same elongated, etiolated shape.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Tiny little ones here.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26It's a motif in absolutely every tile.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29And how...how vital it is.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34You know, this is flat clay with colour that's been baked in a kiln,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38and yet the whole thing is alive.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42It just shows such a sense of reverence for that flower.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53Tulips assumed profound religious significance in Ottoman culture.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56They represented the oneness of God,
0:11:56 > 0:12:01a single flower rising on a stem from a bulb.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05There was even a period in Turkish history known as the Tulip Era.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12The sultan of the time, Ahmed III, hosted tulip competitions
0:12:12 > 0:12:14and lavish full-moon parties,
0:12:14 > 0:12:20where the nobles enjoyed the spectacle of their favourite blooms.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28I feel the same - flowers are perfectly choreographed,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32each one an exquisite performance.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37They're magnificently ostentatious.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Yet, at the same time, rigorously functional.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Each day starts as the flowers unfurl,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48a process regulated by temperature.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53In the morning, as the temperature rises,
0:12:53 > 0:12:58the surface on the inside of the petal grows faster than the outside.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02The tension this creates causes the flower to open.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06In the evening, as the air cools,
0:13:06 > 0:13:11the outside of the petals grows faster than the inside,
0:13:11 > 0:13:12and the flower closes.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18I can just imagine the sultan and his guests out in the moonlight
0:13:18 > 0:13:21revelling in the ballet that would unfold before them.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Although the Ottomans were undoubtedly excellent botanists,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32there were greater forces at work.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37I like the idea that the sultan's gardeners needed some
0:13:37 > 0:13:40botanical serendipity to get them started.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45They were constantly on the lookout for new flowers,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and tulips started to pour into the centre
0:13:48 > 0:13:50to satisfy the sultan's needs.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55When they reached their destination, they were planted side by side,
0:13:55 > 0:13:56so tulips met each other
0:13:56 > 0:13:59who would never have been introduced in the wild.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Of course, most flowers are promiscuous,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06and when a bee came along,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09bees being what they are and not particular about where
0:14:09 > 0:14:12they get their pollen, they collected the pollen from one
0:14:12 > 0:14:16of these flowers and deposited it
0:14:16 > 0:14:20on the female part of another flower.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26To us, it looks like an alien world.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32But flowers are complex and precise organs of reproduction.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40Insects arrive for one reason - to eat.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43And the tulip must be ready to take advantage of this visit.
0:14:44 > 0:14:50At the top of each stamen sits an anther, a tiny pollen factory.
0:14:51 > 0:14:57The plant pumps water into the anthers for the pollen to absorb.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01As the pollen grows, the anthers shrivel.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Finally, they split and the pollen bursts forth.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14The anthers seem to almost turn inside out.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Exposed to the air, the pollen dries.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25It becomes detachable and dormant, fluffy and light.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29The insects are covered in excess pollen
0:15:29 > 0:15:31as they feast at different flowers,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34and eventually these grains of pollen
0:15:34 > 0:15:38find their way on to the stigma of a compatible flower.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45This female part is covered in jelly-producing filaments.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49On contact, the pollen grains rehydrate,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53awaken from their dormant state and fertilise the flower.
0:15:58 > 0:15:59In the sultan's garden,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03these different tulips would have cross-pollinated randomly.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08Amongst them, there must have been true gems.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12When at last they bloomed, the sultan would have been overjoyed.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19Finally it would have dawned on people that it was possible
0:16:19 > 0:16:21to play the part of those insects,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25to choose the parents and to move the pollen very deliberately
0:16:25 > 0:16:27from one plant to another.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32This was the breakthrough -
0:16:32 > 0:16:35it was the Ottomans ability to manipulate nature,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39coupled with the promiscuous qualities of the tulip,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42that would change this flower forever.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47Millions of years of evolution fastforwarded in only a few decades,
0:16:47 > 0:16:52and these astonishing hybrids soon spread across the planet.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59The Ottoman's story is one of sultans possessed
0:16:59 > 0:17:01by a kind of tulip madness,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05but their stories pale in comparison to the tulip obsession
0:17:05 > 0:17:10that gripped an entire nation on the other side of the known world.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15The next leg of my odyssey follows the footsteps
0:17:15 > 0:17:20of the globetrotting ambassadors who triumphantly sailed back to Europe
0:17:20 > 0:17:23bearing tulips among their treasures.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27They ended up here -
0:17:27 > 0:17:31the first place you think of when you think of tulips.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39Holland is the hub of our global tulip industry.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42The Aalsmeer Warehouse, the largest building on Earth,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46trades 19 million flowers every day.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53But the tulip industry hasn't always been so prosperous.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56By a pure quirk of nature,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00this flower brought the Dutch economy to its knees.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07It's a story that almost ended before it began.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11The relationship between the Dutch and their beloved tulips
0:18:11 > 0:18:13got off to the worst of starts.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19When tulips first arrived in northern Europe,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23nobody had a clue what to do with them.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25In one well-documented case,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29a merchant who had been sent some as a present ordered his servants
0:18:29 > 0:18:31to stick them on the fire and roast them.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34He thought they were some kind of onions.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35They were disgusting!
0:18:38 > 0:18:42But within 40 years of arriving in Holland,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46the tulip had become a national obsession.
0:18:46 > 0:18:53Can you imagine the excitement when in 1637 a single tulip bulb sold
0:18:53 > 0:18:58for the same price as one of these fine town houses would have cost?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01This was tulip mania.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05And, like the Tulip Era of the Ottoman Empire,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08it started with the obsessions of a wealthy elite
0:19:08 > 0:19:10and a very special type of tulip.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17This is one of the big treats on my odyssey.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Henk Looijesteijn, a historian of the Dutch Golden Age,
0:19:21 > 0:19:26is about to show me one of the great treasures of the Frans Hals Museum -
0:19:26 > 0:19:31a unique 400-year-old hand-painted tulip catalogue.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36This is so exciting. How beautiful.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Yes, this is an example of what Dutchmen
0:19:39 > 0:19:43in the early 17th century prized most.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46An exquisite pattern on every flower, petal,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50colour splashed over the petals, that was new, that was rare.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52It was never seen before in a flower,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54which is why people were really excited.
0:19:54 > 0:20:00So tulips like this were uncommon, they were very rare. Who owned them?
0:20:00 > 0:20:06Mostly the elite owned them - rich merchants, wealthy politicians.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Often they were the same in the Dutch Republic.
0:20:09 > 0:20:15They were the only ones who could afford these rare, exotic flowers.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16They were collecting tulips, so to say,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18just as they were collecting paintings.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20So they appreciated their beauty,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22it wasn't just a question of their value.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25It was first and foremost their beauty.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31It was this beauty that inspired some similarly seductive names.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37There was the delicate Coquette, the instiller of passion,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41the increaser of pleasure, and the matchless Pearl.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- I know there's one very famous one. - Yeah.- It's in this book, isn't it?
0:20:46 > 0:20:50- Exactly.- Can we have a look at that?- We should turn to that one.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Now, even I know what this is. This is the tulip of tulips, isn't it?
0:20:54 > 0:20:55Semper Augustus.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00Always the emperor, the Semper Augustus.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03That was how it was called when it was first grown in the 1620s.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07It's the most prized tulip,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12the prima donna amongst all the tulips of the Dutch Golden Age.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Soon everyone wanted a piece of the action.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Tulips were no longer regarded as natural works of art
0:21:24 > 0:21:25but as a commodity.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31They were traded furiously, changing hands up to ten times a day.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36People even started trading bulbs planted in the ground
0:21:36 > 0:21:39with no idea of what they were buying.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Families invested fortunes.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47A single bulb even traded for a flourishing brewery.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51There was no stopping the wild speculation.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56The world's first bubble economy was about to burst.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04So this is the painting I wanted to show you,
0:22:04 > 0:22:10which admirably sums up the entire mania aspect of tulip mania.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12Yeah, it does, doesn't it?
0:22:12 > 0:22:13What's its title, Hank?
0:22:13 > 0:22:16- It's called De Mallewagen, or The Fool's Wagon.- Yeah.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19The wagon is gathering speed and everyone wants to get...
0:22:19 > 0:22:24- To jump on the wagon.- To jump on the wagon, to partake in the tulip mania.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28So who's the lady in the centre?
0:22:28 > 0:22:32On top of the wagon you see flower goddess Flora,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34the Roman goddess of flowers.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37She's depicted as unreliable, a fraud, a cheat.
0:22:37 > 0:22:43She has tulips in her hand. She's surrounded by fools.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45It's all out of greed, is the suggestion.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Then the old man with a bag of money.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51What you'll see is that actually this all goes nowhere.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54The sailing wagon ends up, in the end, in the sea,
0:22:54 > 0:22:55and everyone aboard drowns.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57So what actually happened then?
0:22:59 > 0:23:01It starts with an auction in Haarlem,
0:23:01 > 0:23:07on the 3rd of February 1637, where nobody wants to buy tulips any more.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10They lower the price three times, but nobody wants to buy.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Then they realised something is wrong.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17Over the next few days, the entire tulip trade in the Netherlands stops.
0:23:17 > 0:23:18Almost overnight it changes.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Yes, almost overnight it changes. It comes to an end.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24They thought it was a trade in things which actually had no
0:23:24 > 0:23:26intrinsic value to them.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28It wasn't a real trade.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Instead of an object of admiration,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34the tulip becomes a symbol of foolishness and ridicule.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39But what caused these prized markings in the Semper Augustus,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42this symbol of the mania and folly?
0:23:44 > 0:23:48They were known as broken tulips and the answer is in their name.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Broken tulips are the mutant survivors of a virus
0:23:54 > 0:23:55that usually kills tulips.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04The Semper Augustus should have been red, but the virus inhibits
0:24:04 > 0:24:07the formation of the red pigment as the petals develop.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13These breaks in the pigment reveal the underlying white tissue,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16creating these mesmerising patterns.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Each broken tulip is different,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24each a unique mosaic of marking and colour.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Importantly, the virus dramatically inhibits
0:24:30 > 0:24:33the plant's ability to reproduce.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38So it wasn't just their exquisite beauty that made these tulip
0:24:38 > 0:24:41so expensive, it was their rarity.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Even at the height of tulip mania,
0:24:45 > 0:24:50there were only ever a handful of broken tulips in circulation.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58At long last, I'm about to see what all the fuss was about.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03They told me I'd find you here in the middle of your tulips.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05I'm Carol, how do you do?
0:25:05 > 0:25:07'Jan Ligthart is a tulip breeder.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10'With other 30 tulip varieties to his name,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13'he's one of the biggest producers in Holland.'
0:25:14 > 0:25:17He started growing tulips at the age of 13,
0:25:17 > 0:25:22made his first hybrid at 17 and knows just about everything
0:25:22 > 0:25:25there is to know about tulips, especially broken ones.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Look at that, that's just like those tulips
0:25:32 > 0:25:35we saw in the Frans Hals Museum in the book.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37Yeah, this is a broken tulip.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- But they were sick.- They were sick.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43- So we don't want them. - Right.- They have to get out of it.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48- It's garbage, it's worthless. - It's dangerous.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49It's very dangerous,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52because this illness can spread all over the field.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- Yeah.- We take it out and destroy it.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Although Jan must destroy any broken tulips he finds,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02his ancestral reverence for these flowers remains.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05His passion in life is creating healthy versions
0:26:05 > 0:26:08of these flawed beauties.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12- So these are all your... - These are all new broken tulips.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14- New broken tulips? - Yeah. Look at this.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16How amazing.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- Beautiful.- This is one of a kind. This is the only one in the world.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21- I found it last year.- Yeah?- Yeah.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25So the whole point about this is that you walk around
0:26:25 > 0:26:28and you find these, these are natural mutations.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Yeah, by accident. You have to be lucky.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35There's a lot more to it than luck.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39You need intuition, dedication and a few decades.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Each one starts with a simple idea of combining two flowers.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51- So you've got a picture in your mind already.- Yeah. In a way it is, yeah.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55Keep your fingers crossed, wait till the seed grows, and then what?
0:26:55 > 0:26:56Do you keep them all?
0:26:56 > 0:27:02No. From 10,000-15,000 pieces, you only select maybe ten of them.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03CAROL GASPS Only the best.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- Only the best.- Only the best.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- Well, this is beautiful. - It's lovely.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Three years ago, I found the first plant,
0:27:10 > 0:27:16the two kinds of colours really broken but without virus.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19So you would gradually, gradually build up a stock of this.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23- What do you do?- It takes many years. - And a lot of patience.- Yes.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30You've got some very, very new sort of tulips here, haven't you?
0:27:30 > 0:27:34- It's a crossing between the Pearl tulip and the Fringe tulip.- Right.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36It's a brand-new tulip. Totally different.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Yeah, and available in 25 years.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42- LAUGHING:- OK, I'll come back.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Jan's tulips are almost unbelievable
0:27:48 > 0:27:51when you walk up and down these rows.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55You see tulips that you could never, ever have imagined.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01Jan's patient work reflects the sense of romance that
0:28:01 > 0:28:05inspired both the Dutch and the Ottoman tulip enthusiasts.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Having followed the story of the original broken tulips,
0:28:12 > 0:28:16I feel sad that the infinite possibilities of these
0:28:16 > 0:28:20exquisite but flawed flowers can no longer be enjoyed.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Though the virus is now under control,
0:28:25 > 0:28:31one infection remains - our love affair with the tulip.