HOLLAND, Michigan — When thinking about Tulip Time, most people immediately think about the tulips. After all, there are more than more 6 million of the colorful flowers blooming across the area. Others might think about the Dutch dancing, which has been a major part of Tulip Time since the 1930s.
But some people have memories of trying to get that perfect picture with the flowers, which has led to awkward squatting, lounging in the tulips and a multitude of downward facing selfies. But those issues are a thing of the past, thanks to the addition of the Immersion Garden.
“Immersion Garden is a new way to experience tulips, because traditionally you look at tulips when they're down on the landscape. You look down on them, but if you want to take a picture of yourself with the tulips, you need a different way of displaying them. That's why we raised them to a higher level in these very immersive sets,” Dutch horticulturist Ibo Gulsen said. “We started this new way of displaying tulips in Asia a couple years ago, and now we're moving westward, the same trail that the tulip took from central Asia to the west. We are very honored to do our first show in the U.S. at Tulip Time, the oldest tulip festival in the world.”
There are plenty of tulips for the new attraction, which is located at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds.
“We have 50,000 tulips, so that's a very high density of tulips,” Gulsen said. “What we aim to create is basically this massive bouquet of flowers.”
So for those interested in the photo op without all the squatting, check out the Immersion Garden. Tickets are sold for two-hour time slots, starting at 10 a.m. each day. For available times and pricing, click here.
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