| Puffskein
Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 2,394
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Hope Archard
Ravenclaw Fifth Year | 
SPOILER!!: Answers Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19  “Tulip petals can be consumed, and are commonly used in salads,’’ he volunteered once called upon. Can you imagine having such a colourful salad?! Like… souldn’t it be too pretty to eat?! "Yes, Mr. Anders, tulips are indeed edible. They have a mild taste which is somewhat like lettuce. However, bear in mind that although humans can eat them, they are poisonous to many domestic animals--horses, cats, and dogs, to name a few." Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelliephone Raising her hand she waited her turn before offering anything. "In the language of flowers, tulips represent perfect and deep love. This meaning can be changed by what color is presented but... it starts there." Was that helpful for the lesson? Probably not, but she liked to participate. "Quite right, Miss Durand. And each color of tulip has a specific meaning, which we'll be talking about shortly."[/b] There--that was an excellent lead in to the rest of his lesson, Tapio thought to himself. Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin "They grow from bulbs, yeah? Like little dried up onion things that you put in the ground and it just manages to produce an actual plant from it." That was not quite the way Tapio would have put it, but..."Correct, Mr. Branxton. Tulips do indeed grow from bulbs, which usually need to be planted in the late summer or in the fall." Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat "They're not supposed to be blue unless dyed. The bluest nonmagical tulips are much more purple. They don't have the pigment or conditions to be properly blue." And yet... he was sure that these tulips were the real deal, not dyed or artificial. "Which means that these ones are magical, I guess." Ah, there it was. Tapio had been wondering if someone would catch onto that and spring the surprise early. "Yes, Mr. Fox--a true blue is one of the colors that botanists and gardeners have been unable to achieve, though they have come very, very close in modern times. There are a couple who even came up with a black variety in the 1980s, but both that and the blue have a tinge of purple in them. Interestingly, ordinary tulips do come in green, though they're rare. But some of these tulips are truly blue because they are, as you have guessed, magical." This is a school of witchcraft and wizardry, after all. Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch "Tulips can produce new bulbs when they bloom after a year if you care for them correctly. I also think if i recall correctly that tulips originate from Asia or the Netherlands." At least that was what she had heard, and read about the muggle version of the plants. "Excellent, Miss Connolly. Yes, tulips can propagate new bulbs from the old ones, a process which is called naturalizing," Tapio said delightedly. Quote:
Originally Posted by Goblinfrog "Tulips are a thin flower that look kind of plasticy." Plastic, like some of the people here. "If roses didn't exist, people would give each other tulips instead. They kind of look similar, at least, they usually do..." Probably not an impressive answer from a Ravenclaw, huh. Oh dear. Plasticy? Really? Perhaps she would think differently when she got closer to them. Tapio decided to jump diplomatically to the second statement. "Yes, Miss. A., tulips, like roses, make good gifts--though since giving one is said to mean 'I love you,' one shgould be careful who one gives the tulip to." Tapio was not sure that was the girl's last name, but it was the only thing in his records, so he'd been using it, hoping it was all right. Quote:
Originally Posted by love-for-HP "Tulips are native to Central Asia ... I think anwway and they are the national flower of Turkey. She remembered that from a family trip there to visit their uncle who now lived there. Strange the facts our brains remember. "Very good, Miss. Bixby. Although tulips naturally grow in a band stretching from southern Euyopre to Central Asia, the earliest mention on tulips were found in records from Iran, or Persia as it was then called. Though it was the Ottoman Empire that really popularized tulips--that's how the Europeans discovered them and brought bulbs back from diplomatic missions. Now, of course, they're cultivated all over the world, though they prefer a cooler climate, not colder than about 13 degrees Centigrade, or 55 degrees Fahrenheit. And you're right, the tulip is the national flower of Turkey, as well as Iran, Afghanistan, Hungary, and, unofficially, The Netherlands." Quote:
Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom She raised her hand. "Rabbits really like the taste of them, apparently. My mum always had some when I was growing up and I remember she'd get so mad when the rabbits would eat all of them!" she explained. "They do indeed, Miss. Schultz, specifically the tulip leaves." Tapio had had a terrible time with rabbits eating up some of his tulip gardens back in the Netherlands, and of course neither he nor his wife could bear to do anything that might hurt the little animals. Fortunately, there was a spell for that sort of thing. Quote:
Originally Posted by SarcasticStrawberry She raised her hand “Tulips are related to lilies, onions, garlic and asparagus.” "Very good, Miss Wilde. Tulips, like onions, garlic, and asparagus, are all part of the lily family, Lillaceae. As the students had been giving their answers, Tapio had used his wand to move a large whiteboard on an easel over in front of the class and he had been writing each fact on it as they went along (writing with magic, of course).
"Those were all very good answers," Tapio said. "Now, as Mr. Fox guessed, these are not ordinary tulips, such as one would find in any Muggle garden. They are in fact a magical variety which look nearly the same, except for some of the unusual colors, which have to be kept out of sight of Muggles. But the main difference is not in the way they look."{/b] As he had been talking, Tapio had slowly walked over to one of the groups of tulips--the blue ones--and gently picked one up and carried it back to the front of the room, where he carried it to a small narrow table he'd placed there earlier. (My, he was glad his arm was no longer in a sling!Thought it had given him some trouble, a combination of Japanese remedies sent him by some acquaintances he'd met over the summer and the efforts of the school Healer, Professor Feirgrund, had quite cured him and he was as good as ever.)
Placing the tulip ever so gently upon the table, Tapio took a step back and gently touched the stem with his wand. The tulip swayed slightly and emitted a clear, soft trilling sound. When the sound had died out after a minute or so, Tapio said quietly, "These are called Trilling Tulips, and when planted together in compatible groups, the sounds they make are truly wonderful.
After pausing a minute or so to let the experience sink in, Tapio went on, "The key to planting them is to coordinate the colors. Some colors blend nicely together to make a pleasing sound, but others clash and then produce a rather sour note. Unfortunately, although there are some classic combinations of what to combine and what to avoid, the tulips themselves do not always follow the norm, and some seem to have their own notion of which colors match with them. Therefore, it's best to group them together in a separate staging area ahead of time to make sure you get the sound you want, before planting them in their final homes. That's what we will be doing today--creating small groups of tulips that blend together, and then taking them over to Greenhouse One to plant in the beds next to the Honking Daffodils. If we do this correctly, it should produce a very musical display over there.
Now, to help you out, I've prepared a list of the tulip colors we have here today and their meanings, because you can take those into account as well as the colors in grouping them." Tapio waved his wand and the white board turned around to reveal a list of colors written in Tapio's bold, printed handwriting.
"So, what I want you to do is, get into small groups, or you can work alone if you really want to. Then select a small group of tulips, two or three different colors that you think go well together--you could even try four if your ambitious, but no more than that. Carry them one by one over to one of the staging areas I've set up around the greenhouse." Tapio gestured with one hand at a number of little cubicle-like areas around the walls of the greenhouse, separated by clear partitions that almost looked like Muggle plastic--but these were magic, designed to keep any sounds inside each area, and protect it from sounds from outside. "Set each of your tulips next to the others, then touch each one on the stem with your wand--it doesn't have to be the same wand, you can all take a try if you're in a group. Then stand back and see if the sound is pleasing or not. Oh, and you should grab a pair of earmuffs before you get started." Tapio pointed to the large box of earmuffs that had been on the supply wagons way back in the fall when the students had helped him unload things, and took the opportunity to get a pair for himself. "These tulips won't hurt you, knock you out or kill you like a Mandrake's sound, but the noise can get pretty awful if you pick the wrong combination, so you may want to use them. If you do get a bad sound, try to figure out which color of flower is causing it and replace it with another choice. I'll be walking around to check your groups and to help, if you need it. So, everybody clear on that? Then let's get started!" [OOC: So, is that clear as mud? PM me if you have questions, or have your student ask Tapio IC. You can base how many tulips you try to match (2, 3, or 4) based on your student's age and skill at Herbology (and maybe confidence). Putting the colors you use in your post's title line would really help me, and don't RP the result of your choices, I will (promise) be keeping a close eye on this starting tomorrow (Feb. 18) afternoon and will rp the results. This half of the main activity will continue for about 3-4 days, so have fun with it!] |