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Bakersfield Breakaway: ‘Flower freak’ finds tulip nirvana
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Anonymous user Mon Mar 13, 2006 09:07:49 PST
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0 responses 0 comments They may not be growing in the flower fields of Holland, but more than 26,000 tulips will attract thousands of visitors to Descanso Gardens from mid-March to mid-April.

Timing one’s visit to match the peak blooming period is tricky. Last year, my husband, Doug, and I popped in around late-March and discovered row after row of tulips blooming in a wide range of varieties and colors.

It was awe-inspiring.

To this day, some of my favorite photos from my husband’s collection are the tulip beds of Descanso Gardens.

Part of what makes the tulip experience so magical is knowing that their blooms are short-lived. Although Doug and I are betting that late March will have the grandest display of tulips, the staff at Descanso has planned their festivities for the weekend of April 1.

Their Web site reads:

“Demonstrations and a special program at noon Sunday will offer new appreciation of this quintessential spring flower and Descanso’s 2006 display. In addition to the tulips in the landscape, a special tulip exhibit will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Van de Kamp Hall. Programs will include a Tulip Arranging Demonstration at 11 a.m. Saturday at the hall, and a horticultural spotlight walk at 2 p.m. Sunday.”

In truth, I am a “flower freak,” and like many Americans, I can easily spend hours at a time in my garden when spring arrives.

However, no country can match the tulip frenzy that seized Holland in the late 1630s. Sort of like the dot.com boom and bust period here in the States, the affluent Dutch were spending thousands of dollars for tulips.

When the middle and lower classes discovered that they could cash in on this tulip infatuation of the rich, many sold their homes or drew upon their life savings to purchase a few choice bulbs. Indeed, there were those who made great fortunes overnight. It was recorded that a few Dutchmen brought in over $40,000 dollars for a single tulip!

However, “tulipmania” eventually came to a crashing halt, and soon many were as poor, if not poorer, than they were when they’d begun.

Rich and poor alike can purchase a bag of tulip bulbs today. Planted in the fall, they unfold for an early spring greeting in Kern County.

However, Descanso Gardens is the place to go if you truly love tulips –– row upon row of spectacular tulips!

“Tulipmania” is alive and well, and just 100 miles south of Bakersfield.

If You Go:
Descanso Gardens, www.descansogardens.org
1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011 • 818-949-4200
Hours:
Open every day of the year, except Christmas, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to arrive by 4:30 p.m. Parking is free.
Admission:
General $7. Senior/Students $5. Children (5 to 12 years) $2. Guild members and Children under 5 free. Tram $3. Enchanted Railroad $2 (Saturdays and Sundays)

E-mail Laurie and Doug at: lakessler1@earthlink.net.

Laurie and Doug Kessler are Southwest Bakersfield residents. "Bakersfield Breakaway" will be a regular column in The Southwest Voice.

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