Despite unsettled weather, we head for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, an easy drive south of the border. From our comfy Arlington hotel, we embark on tulip adventures.
Like us, thousands flock to nearby Mt. Vernon to stroll through acres of beautiful blooms and attend events taking place throughout April. Inaugurated in 1984, the Tulip Festival has long celebrated these seasonal blooms with art shows, galas, parades, concerts, bicycle tours, salmon barbeques and more.
Following a well-marked route, we visit two extraordinary bulb-growing farms. Both Roozengaarde and Tulip Town offer dazzling fields and gardens, ideas for home gardens and inspiring histories.
At Roozengaarde, we learn the Roozen family began raising tulips in Holland during the 1700’s. With six-generations of expertise behind him, William Roozen emigrated in 1947, soon starting his own five acre farm. Now the world’s largest bulb grower, he raises tulip, daffodil and iris bulbs on over 1,000 acres of land and16 acres of greenhouses.
Roozengaarde’s manicured, three-acre display gardens showcase three hundred thousand spring-flowering bulbs. Amid this magnificence, one gardener tells us that the Skagit delta has been farmed since the early 1900’s. “Crops of all kinds thrive in our mild climate, including spinach, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. And did you know 3,000 acres of cucumbers are planted just for pickles? It’s one of our biggest crops,” the chatty fellow grins. “Of over 100 commercial crops farmed here, tulips are by far the showiest!”
Nearby Tulip Town reveals the valley’s only indoor show-garden. Regardless of weather, folks can browse inside a spacious barn where little shops sell garden ornaments and artsy souvenirs, including posters from past festivals.
Amid a rainbow of displays, we meet owner Tom De Goede, originally from Holland, wife Jeannette from Quebec and Tom’s sister Helga, who comes from Holland every year to help. Tom explains the themes of huge murals decorating each side of the long gallery, both stunning backdrops for floral arrangements.
One landscape represents Tom’s Dutch hometown, complete with skiffs floating fresh tulips along a canal to market. Opposite, the mural depicts Mt. Vernon’s tulip fields, sweeping countryside and snowcapped Mount Baker. In front, a mock stream carries tulip bouquets along in little boats.
With a twinkle in her eye, Jeanette recounts their farm’s history. “One weekend in the 1980’s, I was out picking tulips when two cars parked on the roadside; the drivers wanted to buy flowers and walk in our fields. That was the beginning! Over time, more came and eventually cars lined up along the road as far as the eye could see. Back then, to get into our fields or to buy bouquets meant crossing the ditch on a rough plank. It didn’t take long before we became a two-plank operation, one going and one coming back! About 1982, I borrowed a wooden stand to sell tulip bunches at the roadside. Now visitors come from all over!” Today, there are no more lineups. Fruit trees divide the 500-car parking lot…and recalling the early days of planting and harvesting, vintage farm machinery decorates the borders.
Flags flying in the Peace Garden represent the World Tulip Summit, a gathering of 14 countries promoting peace. The De Goede’s are proud of their World Peace tulip. Always exhibiting something new, this year’s Dutch Village features a replica of the windmill in Tom’s boyhood village.
The ‘Rainbow of Colour’ field exhibits over 70 tulip varieties. We walk amid brilliant swaths of alternating red, yellow, pink and purple rippling in gentle breezes. Row after row of blossoms drench the landscape with vibrant colour.
Our Tulip Festival getaway inspires a flurry of spring escapades…and enthusiastic gardening.
