Tulips Days are Back in DC

 By Dorvall Bedford

After years of waiting, the Dutch Ambassador has finally brought back tulips to his residence and DC for this year’s #DutchTulipDays.

 

 Ambassador André Haspels

Wednesday, March 30, was Ambassador André Haspels' first Tulip Days event he hosted during his almost three years here in DC. He said at the event that he has been looking forward to hosting Tulip Days because everybody told him when he was first appointed ambassador to the United States that it was a big event in DC and the diplomatic circuit.

 

“It was a pity that we couldn’t organize it in my first and second year [due to COVID-19],” Haspel said. “But now I’m very happy that we can organize it in my third year here.”

 

This excitement was certainly displayed in the decorations at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence. If you were walking by the building you would immediately recognize it by all the tulips surrounding it. Tulips also led up the interior stairway to the second floor and covered almost every tabletop and window sill in the residence. They came in several different colors as well, including orange, pink, white, and purple. It was a beautiful design which Chief Florist Susanne Schrijvers expressed pride in.

 

Tulips line the staircase at the  the residence of the Dutch Ambassador to the United States.

“It’s always an honor to design with more than 15,000 tulips here in the embassy,” she said.

 

At the press event that I attended, Haspels made a few remarks and florist Schrijvers led a tour through the residence. Also part of the event was a presentation by Frank Cornelissen, Chief Commercial Officer of Floriade. He discussed the Floriade Expo 2022 exhibition beginning in the Netherlands this month.

 

The focus of this year’s Floriade exhibition is growing green cities since roughly 68% of the world’s population will be living in cities, according to Cornelissen. So as part of an effort to promote making cities more eco-friendly, other countries have participated in Floriade by building their own pavilions on-site made of sustainable materials. Notable examples include a pavilion made of a growing fungus and the Japanese pavilion with its traditional thatched roof.

 

Dr. Dwane Jones, Dean of CAUSES at the University of the District of Columbia, was also present at the press event and made himself available to attendees to discuss the urban agriculture and sustainability work of CAUSES as well as the Urban Greenhouse Challenge being done in collaboration with Wageningen University and Research.

 

After the remarks and presentations, Cornelissen discussed with me how residents here in DC can make their city more green. He mentioned that personal gardening could promote a healthier city and that he grows his own tomatoes on his balcony back in Amsterdam.

 

“Choose your plants wisely,” he said. “Try and find things that work well for insects, bees, and butterflies to help support those populations because they are crucial to our ecosystem.”

 

Haspels also provided ways of making DC a healthy community, such as walking or biking instead of driving, eating less meat, and using green energy like solar panels.

 

“Those are small things that you can do as an individual,” he said.

 

Haspels said that although he couldn’t invite everyone in DC inside his residence, he hopes people still enjoyed the flowers outside and took pictures.

You can view an album of additional photos from the event at - 

facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine.

Tulips at the Floral Library

And for even more tulip viewing, see the Floral Library on the National Mall (between the Tidal Basin and the Washington Monument), planted by the National Park Service. Additional nearby tulip-viewing spots include the Franciscan Monastery in Northeast Washington DC and Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore. See more about growing tulips locally at our Plant Profile.

About the Author:
Dorvall Bedford is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this semester with Washington Gardener. He is a native of Frederick, MD.