The National Capital Commission has introduced a 'tulip meter' to help visitors determine the best time to see the tulips at the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa. The festival, which runs until May 19, may see tulips blooming into early June, according to NCC senior landscape architect Tina Liu.
How the tulip meter works
The tulip meter measures tulip growth on a scale of zero to 10. At the festival's opening on May 8, the meter read five. 'Level seven to eight would be when the mid- to late-season tulips start blooming. Level 10 would be when they will be done blooming,' Liu explained. 'The best time to see the tulips would be the second to third week of May, when most of them are in bloom.'
Expert planning for extended blooms
Liu and her team spent up to 18 months planning the festival, mixing early-season, mid-season, and late-season tulip varieties in every bed to prolong the display. At Commissioners Park near Dow's Lake, more than 60 varieties were on show for the first weekend.
Royal connection
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands attended the opening, celebrating the enduring friendship symbolized by the tulips. Born in Ottawa in 1943, she is the third child of Princess Juliana, who found refuge in Canada during World War II. In gratitude, the Netherlands sent 100,000 tulip bulbs in 1945, a tradition that continues with 10,000 bulbs annually.
'People meet, connect and take joy in the beauty and in the spirit of togetherness they inspire,' Princess Margriet said. The festival also coincides with the 80th anniversary of the Netherlands' liberation from Nazi occupation on May 5.
