Mount Vernon, WA
I first heard about the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in 1999, during
my first extended foray into the Northwest. I had no idea what to expect
other than it was supposed to be pretty spectacular. I was truly impressed
then and this year's event did not disappoint either. Though known for its
tulips, the festival also sports daffodils, however, these bloom first and
are usually scarce by the time the tulips open. Mount Vernon is about an
hour's drive north of Seattle. Traffic can be bad on the weekends, so be
forewarned.
Crops are rotated on a five-year cycle for disease management purposes.
Thus, tulips planted in a field will not be planted in that field again
for 5 years so diseases that attack tulips or need tulips as a host will
die out. These pictures are from the two fields in bloom this year.
The seas of reds and yellows come from the Roozengaarde fields. The
smaller swatches of color come from Tulip Town.
LATER THAT DAY ...
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Pictures were taken with our older Kodak digital camera. |