Rare bloom a special gift

When Jan-Karel Apeldoorn and his colleague found a new strain of tulip 10 years ago, the 35-year-old florist from the Netherlands said he never thought the flower would be presented as a national gift to Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan during their visit in March.

With its special serrated edge, the purple tulip was named "Cathay" by the Dutch Queen Maxima and christened by Peng, who gave the flower a Chinese name "Guo Tai", which means prosperous country.

"I was there at the christening ceremony. It was a great honor seeing the Chinese president and his wife," Apeldoorn says. "Since this was their first trip to the Netherlands, it was also an honor for our country."