Two years ago my daughter Andrea and I visited the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in the Netherlands. They had an amazing variety of tulips, and the beauty of their gardens is unrivaled. It’s a very worthwhile experience. However, not everyone can cross the ocean to see tulips. Fortunately, there are places here in the United States that celebrate tulips, and one of them is just north of Seattle in the Skagit Valley.
Skagit Valley is one of the last major agricultural regions west of Washington’s Cascade Mountains. While the area produces a number of crops, their tulips are one of their most well known products. When the Dutch immigrated to the region, they established tulip farms. Over the years the number of farms has dwindled, but those that remain enjoy popularity when the tulips begin to bloom in April. Each year the area celebrates the tulips with a festival.
This year (2024) there are four farms that opened their gardens to the public. The largest and best known are Roozengaarde and Tulip Town. I visited Tulip Town nine years ago, but I haven’t been back since.
Two newer gardens this year are Garden Rosalyn and Tulip Valley Farms. These are smaller farms and less well known so I decided that I would go and check them out. All four farms charge an entrance fee which varies, but is generally in the $15-$20 range. Some charge more on the weekends. I bought my tickets online which makes for an easier entrance into the gardens.
Skagit Valley is about an hour north of Seattle. Mt. Vernon is the main town near the gardens. The gardens are not near the freeway so visitors will want to make sure they have directions to find them. I visited Tulip Valley Farms first.
Tulip Valley Farms is unique among the four gardens as it is a u-pick garden. Visitors can go out into the fields and choose a bouquet of tulips of the colors of their choosing. Prices vary depending on how many one picks. Wannabe florists were given a bucket when they entered to hold the flowers they picked. They also received instructions as to how to pick the tulips.
One of the interesting things I noticed at the farm was the number of places for those social media photos that people are looking for. A number of spots were obviously designed to be a photo background.
Tulip Valley Farms also has an observation tower which visitors could climb up and see views of the gardens from a higher perspective. I was told that from this deck one can see Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and the San Juan Islands. I went up in the tower before I heard this so I wasn’t looking to see these points, although I did see Mt. Baker.
The tulips are grown in long rows. These make planting and harvesting the bulbs easier. From a practical standpoint it makes sense, but from an esthetic sense it’s not all that interesting or beautiful. I guess I am comparing it to the Keukenhof Garden in the Netherlands. While nearby fields there were laid out in long rows, the garden itself was creative with different shapes of flower beds and interesting color combinations. This is not to say the tulips at Tulip Valley Farms aren’t beautiful. It’s more to say the presentation left me wanting.
Between some of the rows were hazelnut trees. They seemed pretty short at this time. However, they are not a particularly tall tree even when mature. They do help provide some shade for the tulips as their leaves come in.
There is a shallow ditch in the back part of the gardens and some bridges that cross it. The far rows of tulips have grass between the rows along with the hazelnut trees.
Of interest to the children were a few animals that were on the farm. I was quite interested in the cows they had. They were mini highland cows with rather long, pointy horns. Their hair was quite shaggy as well. I’m not sure I have ever seen this kind of cow before. A donkey and a couple of rabbits rounded out the menagerie on the day of my visit.
Of course the point of going to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is to see the tulips. Enjoy these photos of the tulips.
When I read the information about the Tulip Valley Farms, it mentioned that at 10:00 and 2:00 there was a farmer talk. I made a point to be there during that time and found it to be quite interesting. The person talking is the owner of the farm. He’s fairly new to the business and is trying to make a go of it as a farmer in Skagit Valley. A major concern he shared is keeping the agricultural aspects a part of the valley and not losing it. You could sense his passion for this, and I really enjoyed hearing what he had to share. He spoke more personally than one might expect.
After hearing the farmer talk, I was ready to visit the next farm, Garden Rosalyn. It was not too far from the Tulip Valley Farm, but I ended up driving by the Roozengaarde Garden. That was crazy. There were a number of people at the Tulip Valley Farms, but it didn’t feel crowded. However, driving by the Roozengaarde Garden I saw people everywhere. Apparently they have a parking area across the street from the garden area. A person stopped traffic to let people cross. I am sure I sat there for four minutes as a steady stream of people walked both ways across the street. I was wondering if he would ever let the cars go through. If you like a lot of people, this would apparently be the garden to go to.
If you don’t like a lot of people then perhaps Garden Rosalyn would be a good choice for you. As you enter, attendants will guide you to parking on a large grassy area where mud wouldn’t be an issue. From there it’s a short walk to the entrance of the garden.
This garden is different than the Tulip Valley Farms in that it is not planted in rows. This garden seems less designed for harvesting bulbs and more for the beauty and aesthetics of the garden. In that sense it reminded me more of the Keukenhof Garden, However, I missed the mature landscape of that garden. There were only a few trees around this garden. It appears to be a fairly new garden.
From a design standpoint, they seem to be developing the garden. A large, newer man-made pond dominates the garden. Tulip beds with mass plantings surround the pond. There appears to be the beginnings of another pond farther back in the property, but there was no water in it when I was there.
One great eye-catcher is the windmill. In an obvious nod to the Dutch who are famous for their tulips, a colorful windmill sits surrounded by a bed of tulips. Of course that is the one place where people will stop and take photos for their social media pages.
The other flower beds are set up in different ways. There are a few designs created with flowers such as a heart. There are a number of circles, some large and some small. One of the smaller circles has a small John Deere tractor sitting in the center of the circle so someone can sit on it for that photo op they are looking for.
While Garden Rosalyn does not have any large animals to check out, they do have a few quite loud geese and ducks that will entertain you.
The overall size of the garden is smaller than the others so it didn’t seem to offer as much. However, I have to say that because there were not as many people there, it struck me as very peaceful and tranquil. In the midst of our crazy world, maybe that is just what some people need to experience. It gives people a chance to stop and really look at the tulips and some of the other spring flowers the garden has to offer.
At the Tulip Valley Farms, they had a place to purchase snacks and drinks. Picnic tables were scattered around with some under a covered area to protect from the sun or rain. Garden Rosalyn does not have those kinds of facilities, just a few picnic tables. There was a woman there selling trinkets and some clothing. I didn’t check that out too closely.
So there you have a review of the two smaller farms participating in the 2024 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. If you want to pick some tulips, then Tulip Valley Farms is the place to go. If you are looking for a place of beauty and quietness, then Garden Rosalyn would be your choice. As for the other two, I’ll have to leave that up to you and your own research.
Have you been to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival? Which of the gardens is your favorite? If you have any insights, feel free to share them in the comment box below. In the meantime I’m checking out some spots in California and will share my experiences with them beginning next week. Until then…