skagit valley tulips

we finally got to see the skagit valley tulips, and they are incredible! located about an hour north of seattle, the town of mt vernon hosts thousands upon thousands of visitors every spring for the tulip festival. the tulip festival lasts for the entire month of april every year, regardless of bloom dates (which can range over a month). they rotate their crops and have many fields spread over about 20 miles of land. the flowers in this section (roozengaarde) are the very same that are grown in amsterdam. they ship flowers all over the US throughout the year and have more varieties than i could even look through. you can also order bulbs or buy potted or freshly cut flowers on site. we ended up taking home several bunches and can't wait until they open! i imagine there are different varieties available every week, which of course makes we want to go back again and again! there are also daffodil and iris fields in the area (as well as several wineries), but we didn't make it to those this time around.

it was impossible to actually capture the enormity of these fields on my point and shoot, but i hope these photos give you some idea as to how incredible this place really is. we only walked through about a quarter of the area, missing hundreds of varieties and millions of tulips, but the area is so vast i can't imagine doing it all in a single day. if you plan to come to seattle at all next year, come in early april. spring in the northwest is a can't-miss event, and the tulips are absolutely unforgettable! but i urge you to bring your fanciest big girl camera. you'll regret it if you don't. :)