The Tulip - The Herald of Spring
We all have a favorite season, when mother nature speaks to our souls. One such blissful time is the onset of spring, when the season’s first tulips break through the early spring ground. Starting as green nubs peaking out of the soil, tulips grow quickly, shooting up toward the sun before blooming in a riotous display of spring’s glory.
The story of how they came to be planted in gardens across America is as wondrous a tale as the tulip is a flower. Where tulips were found, how they evolved and made their way from humble beginnings to one of the world’s most revered flowers, fascinates enthusiasts the world over.
The Origin of the Tulip
Original tulip species grew wild, notably in the Tien Shan Mountains, where China and Tibet meet the borders of Russia and Afghanistan. In this remote area, over 50 percent of the world’s tulips grow naturally.
The ancestors of modern-day tulips were first cultivated in the Middle East around 1050 A.D., in ancient Persia. Around the same time, tulips show up in the history of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey.
Ottoman Turks revered the tulip. According to Randel Agrella, in the Heirloom Gardener, Ottoman gardeners gathered tulips from throughout the empire, “taking advantage of their propensity to cross freely with each other.” New colors emerged as did the size and texture of the tulips’ petals, fueling the Turks’ love for the flower.
In the mid 1500s tulips found their way to Europe. Given as gifts of diplomacy, by trade and through travel, the tulip’s popularity spread. The crossbreeding of tulip types by the Turks was continued by growers and gardeners in Bavaria, Vienna, England, France and of course, the Netherlands. In 17th century Dutch society, the tulip became incredibly popular and wildly overpriced, during a period known to historians as Tulip Mania.
Tulip Mania
Beginning in the mid-1500s, Dutch society saw a huge influx of merchants, sailors and traders from around the world. By the early 1600s, the Dutch had a growing appetite for the exotic and wealth from the lucrative shipping trade. “As luxury objects, tulips fit well into a culture of both abundant capital and new cosmopolitanism,” Anne Goldgar writes in her book, Tulipmania: Money, Honor, and Knowledge in the Dutch Golden Age.
The tulip changed from a mere beautiful work of nature to a lavish indulgence. Demand for bulbs increased. The tulip trade was on.
“Prices rose, because tulips were hard to cultivate in a way that brought out the popular striped or speckled petals, and they were still rare. But it wasn’t irrational to pay a high price for something that was generally considered valuable, and for which the next person might pay even more.” said Goldgar.
“The rage among the Dutch to possess them was so great that the ordinary industry of the country was neglected, and the population, even to its lowest dregs, embarked in the tulip trade,” wrote Scottish journalist Charles Mackay in his popular 1841 work Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.
The tulip frenzy that began in the early 1630’s was over in 1637. “Many rich traders became paupers overnight, and the prices finally settled at a much more practical level. Of course, all this did not reduce the real demand nor the love of the sheer beauty of the tulips.
Capitalizing on their continued popularity, the enterprising Dutch built one of the best organized tulip production and export businesses in the world.” said Ray Allen, in American Meadows, History of Daffodils and Tulips.
Coming to America
The popularity of these beautiful flowers was the impetus for their journey to America. Tulips arrived in the United States in the early 17th century, brought by Dutch immigrants settling in New Amsterdam. Not long after, they found a home in the heart of Thomas Jefferson, and in his gardens at Monticello. Jefferson was an avid horticulturalist, who traveled extensively to France. After his trips abroad, Jefferson would return home to Monticello with boxes of new tulip bulbs. He planted with the help of his grandchildren and his gardener. At one point, Monticello boasted gardens containing over 8000 tulips!
Today tulips are found throughout America. In well-tended gardens, along country roads and in front of churches, tulips surround us. In addition, tulip enthusiasts can celebrate at multiple tulip festivals in the U.S., February through May.
Tulip Time in Topeka, Kansa features 120,000 tulips and daffodils during the month of April. “Kansas is well known for its fickle weather. So what happens when a March snow comes? Nothing really. According to Mike McLaughlin, communications and public information supervisor for Shawnee County Parks and Recreations, the worst types of weather for the tulips are temperatures above 85 degrees and wind. When it comes to freezing weather, the tulips are pretty resilient.”
Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point in Utah. As the weather turns warmer the tulips at the Ashton Gardens begin to bloom! 2018 marks the 14th annual Tulip Festival. Enjoy 280,000 tulips in hundreds of varieties, all imported directly from Holland. The 15 themed gardens throughout Ashton Gardens highlight different displays sure to bring out plenty of oohs and aahs! This is one festival you’ll want to have a camera handy.
The Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest is an invitation from our family to yours to enjoy all things that make spring in the Northwest. Stroll through 40 acres of stunning beauty, experience expansive views of vineyards, distant mountains, and a few mud puddles. Fresh flowers, food, and fun for the entire family, including well behaved dogs on leashes!
Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan. For nearly 90 years, millions of people have gathered to participate in Holland’s Tulip Time Festival. Drawing more than 500,000 people annually, Tulip Time offers a nine-day experience of our town and its traditions. With over 5 million tulips blooming throughout the city and hundreds of klompen dancers, Tulip Time has been heralded as the nation’s Best Flower Festival, America’s Best Small Town Festival and even the 2017 – 2018 Tulip Festival of the Year! From Dutch traditional garb and dance to nationally renowned entertainment, Tulip Time celebrates both culture and community. Participate in all the festival offers — parades, carnival rides, wooden shoes, elephant ears, fireworks and tulips.
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is an excellent choice for those located in the Northwest – this festival is held in Washington state, just about 60 miles north of Seattle. Here, visitors have the opportunity to visit several tulip fields throughout the Skagit Valley (it was primarily designed as a driving tour), and you don’t have to worry about seeing the same thing year after year as the fields differ annually due to crop rotation. In addition, this festival has an extensive events list. It also features much of the city’s businesses and hospitality. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is 35 years old and growing!
Windmill Island Gardens. Visiting this island during Tulip Time gives you the feeling that you’re in the Netherlands. There’s a working windmill, organ, and a carousel here, all of which were transplanted from the Netherlands. The windmill is called DeZwaan (the swan), and you can take a guided tour of it. From the windmill’s balcony, you can look out over the beautiful gardens, fields of tulips, pretty little bridges and canals. About 100,000 tulips bloom here.
In addition to the many exciting festivals in America, there are a few international festivals worth including in this must-see list of events.
Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, Canada. Each year, Canada’s most vibrant Festival attracts over 650,000 visitors from around the world to celebrate the return of spring and take in the showcase of tulips across Ottawa and its national capital region. Millions of tulips set the stage for a celebration of authentic art, cultural, historic, culinary and family tulip experiences.
“The Canadian Tulip Festival, was established in 1953 to preserve the heritage of Canada’s role in liberating the Dutch during the Second World War. The symbolic tulip – Ottawa’s official flower – was given as a gift in perpetuity to the Canadian people for having provided safe harbor to the Dutch Royal Family during the German Occupation of the Netherlands. The tulip remains a valuable symbol of friendship and of spring, with special meaning to the people of Canada and its National Capital Region.” according to Nienke at Tulips In Holland.
Tesselaar Tulip Festival Australia. “On the other side of the world and in a different time of the year the Tesselaar Tulip Festival is located within 60 minutes of Melbourne, Australia in the town of Silvan. The Festival is a unique annual event the whole family can enjoy, showcasing the breathtaking beauty of over one million spring flowers in bloom (including over 500,000 Tulips and 100 different varieties).” says Nienke at Tulips In Holland
"Srinagar Tulip Festival in Kashmir India is south Asia’s largest Tulip festival that has been named after the Indian prime minister of India, the late Indira Gandhi. Tulip festival takes place during the months of March and April and is the prettiest festival that takes place in Kashmir at the Siraj Bagh Chesmahsahi in the capital city of Srinagar. It is known as Indira Gandhi memorial garden. This blooming festival is a real treat to the eyes as the garden is spread over 5 hectares of land at the foothills of Zabarmwan near the Dal Lake.” states Nienke at Tulips In Holland
Tulips are shared by many cultures around the globe. A symbol of friendship, tulips lift our hearts and are visually stunning. The tulip is indeed an enduring herald of spring.