Farms, merchants ready for Tulip Festival to bloom

Wind, rain, cold and hail made Sunday pretty miserable, but growers did not complain.

“Some daffodils were bent, but they will straighten out after a couple days of sun,” said Brent Roozen of the Washington Bulb Company.

At Tulip Town, early varieties on the outside of rows were damaged. Had the storm been two weeks later, said Andrew Miller, the damage could have been extensive.

Roozen, Miller and just about every business in the valley have high hopes for this tulip season.

“It’s gonna be awhile before things are normal, but after last year, anything looks pretty rosy,” said Roozen.

What was new and frightening then is routine now. Masks, six foot distances and hand sanitizer are common place. Vaccines are making an impact.

“Living in a COVID world, people know the protocol and what’s to be expected,” Roozen noted.

Online ticket sales to Roozengaarde and Tulip Town are already brisk. Both venues are betting that their large gardens will absorb visitors in a socially distant manner.

“We offer a pretty good setup for everyone to come out and enjoy something outdoors,” said Roozen.

Miller and Spinach Bus Ventures partner Rachel Ward “met with the governor’s office early and often about what we were going to do,” said Miller. “We spent a lot of time with highlighters and red pens, explaining the plan.”

Selling tickets for specific three-hour blocks will help Tulip Town manage crowds. A 20-yard runway down the middle of its field created four mini-fields with plenty of cutouts where people can stand. “We hope that will accommodate 3,000 people at a time,” said Miller.

With occupancy in the barn limited to 400, rainy days may be a problem. Miller is hoping for good weather on Locals’ Night, planned for Wednesday, April 14.

Initially, Roozengaarde will limit visitors to about 20 percent of capacity, says Roozen, but “hopefully restrictions open up a bit more as we move into spring.” He expect weekend dates and some weekdays to sell out at the display garden.

Farmhouse Inn general manager Teresa Robert is really excited about the weeks ahead. “People are coming in and our servers are thrilled,” she said.

Even at 50% capacity, the restaurant can seat 138 people.

“We just hired a bunch of new faces because we believe we’ll have a good tulip festival and that catering for events will open up soon,” said Robert.

“We’ve turned a corner.”

“The crowds are definitely coming back,” said Caravan Gallery owner Linda Banaszak. She is taking advantage of outdoor space by adding courtyard art and inviting artisans to display their work in a tent on weekends.

“We’re hoping for a great season,” she said.

The crowds are already wandering the daffodil fields opposite Christianson’s Nursery.

Last March was a disaster for the nursery, but since then, sales have soared as people with no place to go started or enhanced their gardens.

“The enthusiasm for gardening exceeded anything we’ve ever seen in our history,” said John Christianson, “although it’s too bad it took a pandemic to get people to open their eyes to the joy of gardening.”

Christianson is pretty confident those new gardeners will be back this spring.

“Mind you, April could shower,” he said. “If it rains all month, no amount of enthusiasm will get people into the nursery. We need a few weather breaks.”

“Tulip visitors are here because they’re flower lovers and if they love what they see in the fields, a certain percentage will love what they see in the nursery,” said Christianson. “Hopefully, they will come back on a quiet day and be an actual paying customer.”

“Just the fact that we can have people out here this spring is great,” said Roozen.

Miller agrees. “We cannot wait to see the smiles.