The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival was officially inaugurated in 1984 by the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce. When the festival began, it only lasted a few days and then a week. Because the weather is unpredictable, the festival is now a month long, giving folks time to enjoy the full bloom of the tulips.
A few facts about tulips:
Tulips are spring-blooming perennials that grow from bulbs. Depending on the species, tulip plants can grow as short as 4 inches or as high as 28 inches.
Tulip flowers come in a wide variety of colors, except pure blue (several tulips with "blue" in the name have a faint violet hue).
Tulips are indigenous to mountainous areas with temperate climates and need exposure to the prolonged cold of winter. They thrive in climates with long, cool springs and dry summers. Although perennials, tulip bulbs are often imported to warm-winter areas of the world from cold-winter areas, and are planted in the fall to be treated as annuals (flowers that only bloom once).
Although tulips are associated with Holland, both the flower and its name originated in the Persian Empire. The tulip actually is not a Dutch flower as many people tend to believe. Tulip, or "Laleh" as it's called in Persian, is a flower indigenous to Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia. In the sixteenth century, tulips were introduced to Europe, and from there on it became known to the whole world.
There was also a large field of yellow daffodils. Bright yellow flowers, blue skies and snow capped mountains sure bring a smile to my face.
I bought two bunches of tulips, they're sitting on my desk. They're such happy flowers, and they last a few weeks! So next time you're in the Seattle area in April you should go to the Tulip Festival, just one of those things that is worth experiencing.
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