Skagit Valley's annual Tulip Festival may be running the entire month of April as always, but the tulips have not been cooperating.
Colder than normal temperatures for this time of year have set the blooming season back at least one week.
The daffodil fields are still in bloom right now, with the first tulip blossoms not expected to appear until this weekend.
What promises to be a colorful tulip season will not peak until some time in the ensuing weeks.
But four huge farms are more than ready to go for what will be the 40th running of the festival and are taking reservations and selling tickets ahead of time for visits in the Mount Vernon area.
RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town are back in the act along with newcomers Garden Rosalyn and Tulip Valley Farms.
The Skagit Valley tulips come in a wide variety of colors and Catherine Smith, a Korean friend, says that each has a different meaning.
Yellow and red dominate the scenes at the Skagit farms.
"It's hard not to smile when looking at a bouquet of yellow tulips, therefore the flower language of the yellow tulip is happiness and good luck," she said. "Red tulips mean eternal love and passion, so they are more popular flowers among couples and also used in weddings. If you are the romantic type and want to win someone's heart, send a beautiful bouquet of red tulips."
How to get there:
Take Mount Vernon exit 225 or 226 off of Interstate 5 some 60 miles north of Seattle and follow the Tulip Festival signs out to the area of the fields.
The festival runs an office that is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily in April located at 311 W. Kincaid Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 with a phone number of (360) 428-5959.
More information can be found at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival website at tulipfestival.org, including links to the individual farms for purchasing advance tickets.
Text and photos by Tim Clinton.
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