* In a far-off corner of my mother’s garden there used to be a spot where all kinds of tulips grew. Among them was a rather peculiar variety I have never seen anywhere else before or since. The white tulips heads smelled like a rotting carcass and were, to make matters worse, a treacherous insect trap. I have no idea what these tulips were called and my mother does not remember their name either. To this day (and until further notice) their identity remains an unsolved mystery.