HOLLAND, Mich. — It was a gorgeous weekend out at the lakeshore to wrap up the final weekend of Tulip Time. The sunset on the 95th annual festival was on Sunday.
FOX 17 took a look at the last blooms left around town.
It's time to say goodbye to Tulip Time. While most of the tulips left Holland early, thanks to a warm spring, there's one spot where the blooms always have perfect timing.
“We are in the immersion garden,” Ibo Gulsen, designer of the immersion garden said.
Ibo Gulsen designed the immersion garden, which has raised beds with the goal of making the tulips more easy to photograph and see. It's also great for taking photos to make the beds look much larger than they are.
“We tell all about the story of the history of the tulips. How it traveled from the east to the west to the Netherlands, from the Netherlands to the rest of the world,” Gulsen said.
Devon Stringhum came from Lansing to catch the tulips on their last day.
“Taking a look at the flowers. Seeing how pretty they are. Spending a little time with family,” Stringhum said. “First time seeing them. They’re really pretty. Even for being a little late to it.”
The immersion garden features bulbs that are timed out perfectly to bloom for the festival. They do it by refrigerating the plants and putting them out at the perfect time.
“The last tulips around in the city. This is where you can find them,” Kim Vandermolen, event and volunteer manager for Tulip Time said.
All this, not possible without the people behind the scenes.
“Getting a garden like this together is impossible without the help of all the dozens of volunteers that game out to help put all this together. That is really so special for tulip time, as a festival. It’s driven by a community. So many volunteers,” Gulsen said.
This is the third year of the immersion garden.
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