300,000 Tulips!

For 11 days each May, Ottawa hosts the annual Tulip Festival. Guests come to see the amazing display of 300,000 tulips and to learn the historical beginnings of the festival...

The festival began with a special gift. The Royal Family of the Kingdom of the Netherlands took refuge in Ottawa during the Second World War, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Margriet was born here in 1943. Two years later, Canadian troops played a key role in liberating the Netherlands. In gratitude, the Dutch government has sent Canada a gift of tulip bulbs every year since 1945, inspiring what has become the Canadian Tulip Festival.
~ from the Ottawa Tourism website

It's Friday afternoon towards the end of the Festival so let's hope I have avoided the crowds.

You can see that it's a fairly large area. The beds will get bigger as we move on.

As you might expect, there are beds and beds of tulips, located across Ottawa but the main display is, here, along the Queen Elizabeth Way at Dow's Lake.

If you're like me, you probably have an image in mind of what a tulip is, and it's a brightly coloured simple flower with smooth petals, with a single flower on a stem. That idea will be challenged today.

How nice it must be to live in the nearby houses with a display like this.

Ruffled purple tulips.

More ruffles. If you didn't recognize the leaves, you might not believe it's a tulip.

Here, you can buy some tulips to take home.

Above, the Canada 150 tulip. In 2016, it was the official tulip of the 150th anniversary of Canada. It was bred to resemble the Canadian flag with a single red maple leaf on a white background.

There seems to be a ruffle theme this year.

Breeders have extended tulip season but most beds are mixtures of flowers, possibly so there is always something in bloom.

A mandatory stop for some folks!

I have been avoiding the people fairly well.

We need a few closeups from this bed.

This one is so tall and elegant with pointed petals.

This one is short and its somewhat peony shaped flower has heavy petals.

This tulip is similar to the previous one but has variegated leaves.

And all together.

Some dark beauties at the back of the bed.

There are always goodies to eat.

This bed is a stunning pink and yellow surrounded by a ring of pink tulips.

There are multiple flowers on a single plant.

From above, a single plant is almost a bouquet.

It's a beautiful occasion to get out for fresh air and walk your dog.

Beds and beds.

Walkways have been built into the tulips so you can have a photo of yourself surrounded by them. Elsewhere, as you might expect, there are signs not to "tiptoe through the tulips."

The area is lit so you may see the tulips at night too.

Not too crowded. Now I wonder is it because I avoided the crowds or is it because of Covid?

My last tulip photo before I head over to the lake.

I had mentioned Dow's Lake earlier, just a nice lake off the canal for year round recreation.

The far end of the lake with the pavilion, and you can barely make out a row of tiny white rectangles that are raised flower boxes full of tulips. The festival isn't only the flowerbeds. There are tulip themed events across the city. Tulip Bingo, anyone?