Tulips at Arundel Castle blooming 'earlier than ever'

Flowers have bloomed in some parts of Sussex earlier than ever, the BBC has been told.

Martin Duncan, head gardener at Arundel Castle, said tulips at the historical site had bloomed 10 days earlier than normal.

"It is stunning," he told BBC Radio Sussex. "This is probably the best [display] we have ever had."

Duncan said more than 1.5 million bulbs had been planted around the 11th Century castle over the past decade.

"We have more than 157 different named tulips here," he said, including the varieties Persian Pearl, Perestroyka and Black Parrot.

Duncan added there were some "beautiful stories" about tulips, which originated on the hillsides of Turkey.

The first known "tulip mania", he said, was during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent in the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566.

The sultan even encouraged his entourage to wear cloaks embroidered with tulips, his main symbol, according to Duncan.

"A tulip was worth more than its weight in gold," he added.

It comes as the annual Tulip Festival at Arundel Castle returned on 1 April.

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