Friday, April 22, 2011

Tulips!

About an hour north of Seattle is the Skagit Valley, which is North America's largest grower of tulips, iris and daffodils.


The tulips are in full bloom right now, and we spent the afternoon oohing and aahing at their beauty.

It's hard to capture the enormous scale in a photo. There are 1,000 acres altogether. This is just one of many large fields.


Every once in awhile you find a rebel tulip,



Or a patchwork one.


How would you like your garden to look like this?


These tulips are grown for their bulbs, which are sold all over the world. The flowers, short-lived, are picked and tossed away.



A good reminder that what's important is often deep down inside and can't be seen.



Which brings me to my all-time favorite virtue.



Happy holiday weekend, everyone!
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31 comments:

  1. antique quilterApril 23, 2011 at 12:10 AM

    just beautiful I love tulips! the patchwork one is just so fun!!!!!
    how I would love to live in that house, look at the scenery! mtns, open view and oh all those tulips!
    thanks for sharing, Happy weekend!
    Kathie

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  2. TeodoApril 23, 2011 at 1:52 AM

    MERAVIGLIOSO (amazing)!!!
    I'd love to live in that house, surrounded by all those flowers.
    ciao ciao

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  3. MicheleApril 23, 2011 at 3:50 AM

    I adore tulips. The don't grow here, so it's always a treat to see them.

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  4. BarbApril 23, 2011 at 4:22 AM

    Love that rebel - I always call those flowers "wise guys". Love seeing the ocean of color - amazing.
    happy spring.

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  5. Sujata ShahApril 23, 2011 at 4:48 AM

    Oh the Skagit Valley! Used to be one of my favorite places to visit in spring.
    Thanks for posting the pictures!

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  6. UnknownApril 23, 2011 at 5:26 AM

    Wow, wow, wow!! I just love all that glorious color! I so wish that were near me. Love the red and the yellow together too. Of course there had to be a patchwork tulip, they knew you were coming.

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  7. HelenApril 23, 2011 at 5:30 AM

    Gratitude, yes! Thanks for the color feast, Nifty.

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  8. Tonya RicucciApril 23, 2011 at 5:35 AM

    beautiful - reminds me of my first trip to Holland. I hope they let you take home tulips for free rather than just composting them. I'm amazed you don't have even more of them now at home.

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  9. BonnieApril 23, 2011 at 5:38 AM

    Boy, Holland, Michigan must be crazy over this claim. They have a Tulip (as you can imagine they started as a Dutch community)Festival in May and they say they grow the most tulips. Anyway, I love tulips. I think that is why there are so many tulip qulting blocks.

    Also, you cannot underestimate the importance of gratitude. It keeps life's vagaries in perspective.

    Bonnie

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  10. Victoria Findlay WolfeApril 23, 2011 at 6:14 AM

    WOW! those are amazing pictures! love that red/yellow tulip.. hehe! lover-ly!!

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  11. Mary KeaslerApril 23, 2011 at 6:21 AM

    I am grateful for this wonderful post. Very thought provoking. Thank you

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  12. bethApril 23, 2011 at 7:51 AM

    What beauty! Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Miki WillaApril 23, 2011 at 7:58 AM

    Beautiful photos. I am amazed they actually bloomed with all the cool rainy weather we have been having. Your virtues quilt is going to be so wonderful. Love this one.

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  14. MariQuiltsApril 23, 2011 at 8:23 AM

    So beautiful....tulips are a favourite of mine.

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  15. AnonymousApril 23, 2011 at 9:52 AM

    These pictures sure bring back memories. I lived in the Skagit Valley for over 30 years, even lived briefly on McLean Road which had several tulips fields and a tulip visitor center/gift shop on it. When I was a teenager I worked a couple of summers on a bulb farm in Mt. Vernon. Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing.
    valekort at yahoo dot com

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  16. JanetApril 23, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    How beautiful, what a great place to visit. The view is just amazing.

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  17. RachaeldaisyApril 23, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    Beautiful photos!!! Must be quite breathtaking in real life! I think tulips are a great easter flower because they look like eggs on stalks.

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  18. jovaliquiltsApril 23, 2011 at 6:52 PM

    Love those tulips -- always thought you had to go to Holland to see fields like that! That patchwork one is fabulous. :)

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  19. Quilter KathyApril 24, 2011 at 5:48 AM

    What a lovely post to read this morning! What beauty! Hard to believe the pretty tulips are thrown away?!? We are missing the tulips here this Easter...nothing is blooming yet :(
    Love your new word...I made my first 2 words for the virtues quilt this weekend...just need to find the camera and post them.

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  20. Andrea, the little collectorApril 24, 2011 at 7:44 AM

    I love tulips! They were the main flower blooming the weekend I got married. :) And the patchwork one is delightful! Yes indeed...the inside matters most!

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  21. Bonnie HullApril 24, 2011 at 2:59 PM

    ...Good thing to do on Earth Day! xo

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  22. ChrisApril 25, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    Good reminder, it's what inside that counts! :) Our old retired pastor used to say, "You've given us so many things, now give us one more - grateful hearts." I love that. Thanks for a beautiful post.

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  23. QuiltdivajulieApril 25, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    Taped to the base of my computer monitor: "If the only prayer you say in your life is 'thank you' that would suffice." Meister Eckhart

    Fabulous post!

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  24. Pinkadot QuiltsApril 25, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    A beautiful and inspiring post, happy spring!

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  25. KimApril 26, 2011 at 7:56 AM

    Wow.......what a beautiful sight!
    Like a quick trip to Holland :0).
    thanks for sharing the beauty of your state.....I'd love to see that for myself too.

    Happy Sewing.......did this inspire a quilt?

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  26. Magpie SueApril 26, 2011 at 2:13 PM

    What amazes me is how distinct that line of demarcation is between the red and yellow on the patchwork tulip!

    Pretty sad that I have to enjoy the tulips on someones else's blog rather than risk going out to see them myself (they're just over the river from my house). :-P Great pictures though!

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  27. VictoriaApril 28, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    Wow! I thought one had to go to Holland to see something like this. Spectacular!

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  28. Sherri Lynn WoodApril 29, 2011 at 9:20 AM

    Isn't it amazing that we can consume that many tulips at one time - and that they can be picked and shipped across the country!

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  29. Mary KeaslerApril 30, 2011 at 3:42 PM

    Spectacular, indeed. I am grateful for your wonderfully cheerful pictures.

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  30. Selvage QuilterApril 30, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    Wow, I had no idea there were tons of bulbs growing north of Seattle! I'd love to have my yard look like that.

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  31. VesuviusmamaMay 27, 2011 at 9:43 AM

    Love the patchwork tulip, but I was a bit saddened to see them harvested for their bulbs and the blooms tossed. :(

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