“The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the destination events for the Pacific Northwest, held each year from April 1-30. Every spring hundreds of thousands of people come to enjoy the celebration of spring as millions of tulips burst into bloom. As with all things governed by Mother Nature, the tulips bloom according to their own schedule sometime during the festival. The tulips allow us to share our corner of the world and help us to showcase Skagit Valley agriculture.
Mary Brown Stewart started growing tulips in 1906 with bulbs from Holland, but tulips were “only a small part of the crop and the whole operation was of modest size” (Barrett). In 1926 her son Sam Stewart started the Tulip Grange Bulb Farm near LaConner. Marinus Lefeber, a friend of Sam Stewart, moved their Whatcom County operation down to a farm along Memorial Highway near Mount Vernon. The farm was in business until 2002. Other bulb growers joined them after 1945. By 1997, 700 acres were used for bulb farming, with a value of $42 million.”
I never get tired of visiting the tulip fields. Besides the fields there are gardens to visit, too.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
O, so lovely!
Lovely! Tulip heaven..
WOW. I love the deeper pink ones!
Wow, simply beautiful. I would love to see this tulip festival in person someday. I loved all your photos, they are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.
What an awesome sight!
Oh WOW – those pictures are beautiful Ellen! What a perfect story/post for Earth Day. Thanks for sharing.
BTW – you should make post cards or something with those pics!
So pretty…I love tulips!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!
Your photos are so beautiful, Ellen. The tulips are gorgeous. My niece got married yesterday here in Portland and used tulips for her bouquet and on all the reception tables–purple and red and yellow and orange. She went to the tulip fields south of Portland and gathered them before the wedding.
OH that is so pretty….rows and rows of blooms!
Tulip heaven…is right! Your pic’s are perfect on this Monday morning.
What an amazing valley! The field of flowers are beautiful and thank you for getting such perfection in your photographs! This is a glimpse of heaven!!
Oh Ellen, those tulip pictures make my heart sing!!!! Thanks for sharing them. I am with Julene, I think there are going to be tulips in heaven! 🙂
Wow spectacular, really! Who needs to go to Netherlands, when you have this in your State. I could look at these fields over and over again. Thank you for visiting me, nice to have a new reader.
Breathtaking, absolutely heavenly!
Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for giving us a splendid display.