With spring upon us, the Tulip Festival is on the horizon at the West Side Community Garden at 123 West 89th Street (between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues). This year’s event will begin on April 12 and continue every weekend until the end of the month.
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Come April 12, those thousands of tulip bulbs will be in full bloom. Tulips originally grew as wildflowers in Central Asia before being brought to Europe in the 16th century by biologist Carolus Clusius. By the 17th century, they had become so popular that the Netherlands experienced what is known as “Tulip Mania,” causing tulip prices to skyrocket—until the market eventually crashed when demand collapsed. Some historians consider this phenomenon, also called the Tulip Craze, to be the first recorded economic bubble.
Alas, the only bubbles at Tulip Fest on the Upper West Side will be the soapy ones drifting from a bubble wand or some other playful device.
While some tulips are perennials and return year after year, the tulips at the West Side Community Garden are replanted annually. To regrow the following season, tulips need to remain fallow in direct sunlight for at least 6–8 weeks, but the garden, unfortunately, doesn’t have a clear way to provide that light.
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Among the most popular flowers in the world, tulips captivate with their vibrant spectrum of colors and have come to symbolize a range of emotions over the years. They are often associated with deep love, as people have a strong passion for these blooms—bubble or no bubble. If someone gives you tulips, it’s likely that love is in the air.
Even tulip colors carry their own meanings: yellow symbolizes happiness, orange represents enthusiasm, energy, and a zest for life, and red, of course, signifies eternal love.
That’s how we feel about this festival. See you there. westsidecommunitygarden.org/event/annual-tulip-festival
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