Tulips in Mt. Vernon - April 2011

We went to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival and started out at RoozenGaarde. It is a beautiful 3+ acre display garden planted with over 1/4 million bulbs and featuring an authentic Dutch windmill!

Jim's boss told him to have fun tiptoeing thru the tulips but as you can see by the sign that wasn't a possibility!!

The gardens were not at their peak but some of the tulips were in full bloom.

Many were just starting to bloom.

There were many Kodak moments. Some people got a little carried away, laying on the ground, in the rain, to get the perfect shot! ( :

I found my perfect shot standing on my feet! ( :

Tulips with a river of hyacinth between the rows.

It was a good day for close-up photography!

The raindrops on the tulips were picturesque!

The daffodils bloom earlier than the tulips so they were at their peak!

But the water was standing between the rows of flowers.

Mt. Baker is hiding behind the clouds!

On the grounds at RoozenGaarde

Yellow daffodil field in the background.

Since there wasn't a lot of traffic we stopped on the road by the No Parking sign to view the tulips fields. The fields were so wet that they were not accessible by foot. We figured it was safe to park here since our name was on the sign! ( :

The tulips were only partially open as you can see here. In the background there is standing water. The cool, wet spring has caused a delay in the blooming. Obviously the bloom date is chosen by Mother Nature.

More fields ready to bloom.....very disappointing!

This is how the fields looked last year at this time! Seas of color!

And tulips in full bloom...they say they may bloom all the way through Mother's Day this year because we are having the coldest April on record.

It was still an enjoyable day and we will try again next year!!