Saturday, April 11, 2015

Ah, the tulips

Early morning light through the tulips
You will have to indulge me, as I have had the hardest time deciding which of the hundreds of pictures I took at RoozenGaarde Tulip Gardens last Wednesday to share with you today. This is the latest I have ever been at the gardens, because the warm springtime temperatures and sunshine made everything two to three weeks ahead of the usual schedule. By the time this weekend is over, most of the color will be fading quickly.
Just amazing
We arrived early, since it was a beautiful day and we knew that hordes of people would be coming later. I arrived fifteen minutes before opening time at 9:00am, and there were already dozens of people queued up to be admitted. I was hoping for pictures with the early morning light coming through the tulips, and I have been very pleased with the result.
Hyacinths among the tulips
The display gardens are as beautiful as I've ever seen them, and I enjoyed walking through them for a couple of hours. My eyes were getting quite full, but my camera gives me the possibility of walking through them again as I share them with you.
Snapping pictures right and left
As you can see in the picture above, more and more people began to arrive to view the tulips as well. In the foreground, you can see that some early bloomers had already been "topped" and are gone. But there were still plenty of tulips to see.
A favorite shot before the crowds arrived
Within a short time, maybe an hour after arriving, I would have been unable to capture this picture because of the sheer numbers of people who were also enjoying the tulips. This path was actually crowded before we left. Although I had traveled to the Skagit Valley alone, I met some friends there, and I'll tell you about that adventure at another time.
Tulips for miles
We then traveled down to the tulip fields after seeing the display gardens, and that was also an amazing treat. As you can see here, on the left and right of these tulip rows are more colors, more to see than was possible to absorb. Since we had several days of warmth and sun before Wednesday, the fields were almost dry.
Now that's pink
And the colors! I loved seeing the incredible variety of tulips for us to enjoy. I thought this color was my favorite, until I saw this field.
Purple ones
Yes! My favorite color in a beautiful tulip, with full sun and the most perfect day for seeing these beauties. By this time, however, I was almost full up to the brim with eye candy, and I was getting hungry. We headed off to Nell Thorn Restaurant in La Conner for a sumptuous lunch with delightful company. Then it was time to head back to Bellingham, after a wonderful day.
:-)

27 comments:

  1. Oh how gorgeous! I especially like your first shot of the light through the tulips. I visited a tulip farm here last week and will be sharing photos very soon.

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  2. What a good idea to get there early and give us such a treat with your photos.

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  3. Incredibly beautiful.
    How I envy you.

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  4. Tulips are so gorgeous. You captured them well. As a kid I once flew over Holland when the fields were full of blooming tulips. That image of miles of bright colours has remained in my memory as one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen.

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  5. PRETTY....GORGEOUS...so full of vivid, brilliant colors.

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  6. it's just incredible! can't find the right words to describe it!

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  7. A virtual kaleidoscope of color, utterly amazing !
    I wished I lived close by, to see the magnificence through my own eyes, instead I'll be grateful of you sharing it with us through your camera lens.
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  8. How lovely. How magical. How beautiful.
    Thank you.

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  9. Beautiful pictures, aren't we lucky we live so close. I must have went there 5 times this year.

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  10. I enjoy all your photos and those of Linda Letters. There is so much vivid color. I'm assuming these fields are used for the cut flower trade?

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  11. DJan, I thought of you on Wednesday, and I was so thankful that you and your "friends" had such a perfect day. I am just so pleased for all of you.
    Great photos!

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  12. Absolutely delightful photos, the flowers are gorgeous!

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  13. Wow. These photos are stunning! The color, the shapes...just beautiful.

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  14. Stunning colours DJan. I especially like the curves in photo 3 and 4; although they are indeed all beautiful. Thank you for sharing. We do not see any tulips here yet.....

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  15. Oh my What stunning colors. My flower gardens are several weeks behind normal....

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  16. I love the purple too! You took some great photosm thank you for sharing them:)

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  17. They were all beautiful shots. Sounds like you had a wonderful day. :)

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  18. Those massive rows are a feast for the eyes and yes, those purple ones were beautiful and that isn't even my favorite color. A day to make one smile.

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  19. Oh wow! Awesome awesome photos! It just takes your breath away. How lucky to have such a sunny and dry day!

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  20. How beautiful! Thank you for sharing!!

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  21. Your photos are astoundingly beautiful! From every angle those tulips are gorgeous.

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  22. wish we lived closer! We have a friend who lives in the Netherlands and she too posts the most amazing photos of tulips. They are my favorite flower.

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  23. What a beautiful day! The field photos are my favorite. With the Mountain in the background. Amazing.

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  24. OK... I'm home and sorting through my photos, but I think I need to take a bit of rest first. I love your phrase of your eyes being "full up" with all that beauty. I have to say mom (and the rest of us) are feeling full up with all the joys we experienced on this trip.

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  25. Just beautiful. Is there anything more beautiful than all those tulips?

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