Where have all my flowers gone?

I was hoping for a display of tulips like this....

Instead, all I've got is this - five weeks after planting 30 bulbs chosen from the displays at Amsterdam's flower market, just one lonely shoot of a Triumph White has emerged.

When I bought them, I knew it was late in the season, but was told the bulbs had been chilled to hold back flowering, and would bloom six weeks after planting.

I should have known better.

So, unless a miracle happens, I will have to cross my fingers, wait for next spring, and hope that in the meantime the squirrels don't acquire a taste for Dutch delicacies.