2013-10 Tulip Festival, Washington
Hello All,
For a number of years it has been on our bucket list to experience the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. It is one of the most popular events in the Pacific Northwest and takes place annually from April 1-30. This agricultural valley, located about 50 miles north of Seattle, Washington, is where farmers raise tulips as a flower and bulb crop. Every spring hundreds of thousands of people come to enjoy the celebration of spring as millions of tulips burst into bloom.
Since bloom dates are according to Mother Nature, we chose a mid April date for our trip. With the long-range weather forecast being good we felt comfortable with our travel dates. We were thrilled to hit the area right in the peak of the blooming season. However, as happens so often in the Pacific Northwest during springtime a major storm moved in. It settled in the area for days and started dumping rain. We mean the sky turned black and inches of rain fell!
We decided to take a positive approach to the matter. Thinking that the nasty weather would keep the crowds away it would leave the area to us without other folks to contend with. WRONG--there were thousands of other idiots like us out stomping around in the muddy fields enjoying the flowers!
While there were many festival events taking place our goal was to capture the flowers in bloom. In addition to the thousands of acres of planted fields there are two main garden areas to visit--Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde.
Our first stop was RoozenGaarde, owned by the Roozen family. They have been tulip and bulb growers in Holland and the United States since the early 1700’s. They have more than 1000 acres of tulip, daffodil, and iris fields located in the Skagit Valley. RoozenGaarde is a beautiful 3½-acre display garden with over ¼ million bulbs planted.
In spite of the lousy weather RoozenGaarde was spectacular.
For a number of years it has been on our bucket list to experience the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. It is one of the most popular events in the Pacific Northwest and takes place annually from April 1-30. This agricultural valley, located about 50 miles north of Seattle, Washington, is where farmers raise tulips as a flower and bulb crop. Every spring hundreds of thousands of people come to enjoy the celebration of spring as millions of tulips burst into bloom.
Since bloom dates are according to Mother Nature, we chose a mid April date for our trip. With the long-range weather forecast being good we felt comfortable with our travel dates. We were thrilled to hit the area right in the peak of the blooming season. However, as happens so often in the Pacific Northwest during springtime a major storm moved in. It settled in the area for days and started dumping rain. We mean the sky turned black and inches of rain fell!
We decided to take a positive approach to the matter. Thinking that the nasty weather would keep the crowds away it would leave the area to us without other folks to contend with. WRONG--there were thousands of other idiots like us out stomping around in the muddy fields enjoying the flowers!
While there were many festival events taking place our goal was to capture the flowers in bloom. In addition to the thousands of acres of planted fields there are two main garden areas to visit--Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde.
Our first stop was RoozenGaarde, owned by the Roozen family. They have been tulip and bulb growers in Holland and the United States since the early 1700’s. They have more than 1000 acres of tulip, daffodil, and iris fields located in the Skagit Valley. RoozenGaarde is a beautiful 3½-acre display garden with over ¼ million bulbs planted.
In spite of the lousy weather RoozenGaarde was spectacular.
Trees and bushes were ringed
with flowers. Any grooming that needed to be done on the trees and shrubs was
accomplished meticulously before we arrived.
The beautiful blue plant you
see mixed in with the tulips is grape hyacinth.
We threw this photo in to show
you what a wonderful blue sky day we had—NOT!
We didn’t realize that there are so many
different types of tulips. Some are thin with very pointed petals.
Others are kind of fuzzy on
the end of the petals as shown below. We are sure there is a more scientific
explanation; however, fuzzy works for us.
It was fun walking the paths through the garden.
We never knew what lovely scene we would see next. We love color and it did not
disappoint.
Rhododendron bushes were in
full bloom and scattered here and there.
Here are a few close up shots.
Hope you enjoy them as much as we did. The water droplets kind of add a
different touch.
Lots of color everywhere—it
was awesome!
Fences were lined with
flowers.
You can see from the moss on
this old wood fence that there is no lack of rainfall in the Pacific Northwest.
Within thirty minutes of walking in the garden
our feet were soaked. The ground was saturated from all the rain. We spent
hours squishing with every step. You can see some of the standing water in the
following photo.
Heck, there were even tulips
planted high in the tree branches!
Amazingly, the orange colored
tulips in the following photo seemed to glow. In our eyes they were really
beautiful.
We will continue with our
adventure to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in our next little blurb. In it
we will concentrate on Tulip Town and the planted fields.
It is worth noting that in 2013 alone, the festival greeted visitors from all 50 states and from 53 countries. It is a stop you might want to put on your bucket list.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
It is worth noting that in 2013 alone, the festival greeted visitors from all 50 states and from 53 countries. It is a stop you might want to put on your bucket list.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns