Tulipmania in Rhode Island
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In the 17th century, tulip mania swept through Europe. Now it is sweeping through New England with the establishment of the first u-pick tulip farm in Exeter, Rhode Island. With seemingly endless fields of colorful tulips, Wicked Tulips has brought a slice of Holland to New England. But here you get to take home some of the beautiful flowers, and that has people coming in droves.
Photo courtesy of Wicked Tulips
Keriann and Jeroen Koeman moved to Rhode Island and founded Wicked Tulips in 2015. Their first “green” business was selling organically grown flower bulbs in Virginia. This was a fairly novel and challenging concept for a commercial bulb nursery but important to conservationist Keriann. Jeroen grew up on his family’s 150-acre tulip farm in Holland, where the name Koeman is synonymous with tulips. Virgina turned out to be too hot for tulip growing, so the couple looked north and were attracted to Rhode Island. They planted their first u-pick fields at Snake Den Farm, and found the climate to be perfect for tulips—cold in the winter and hot in the summer, which is similar to the climate of Central Asia where tulips are native.
The u-pick tulip concept was an instant hit, with 17,000 visitors storming the farm over three weeks in the first season.
Pickers of all ages, from small children to seniors in wheelchairs, meandered through the rows with buckets in hand, admiring and selecting their flowers. From the fields they made their way to the wrapping station, where their tulips were carefully wrapped in brown paper for the journey home.
Since 2015 the Koemans have tripled the size of their gardens and now grow more than 800,000 tulip bulbs of 100 different varieties. Their farm includes an early and late field as well as a display garden with 5,000 unusual tulips. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and each ticket includes 10 free tulips. Visitors should check the farm’s website or Facebook page to get the exact dates of the picking season and for a daily “Bloom Report” that indicates which varieties are in bloom. Wicked Tulips also sells tulip bulbs for fall planting.
Note new location: Schartner Farms, 1 Arnold Place Exeter, RI
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