A Million Tulips are Blooming at This Ontario Farm

Have you ever seen a parrot tulip? It’s one of the frilly types that Melanie Berkel and her family are growing on their farm in southwestern Ontario this year.

This spring has been cool, leading to a later blooming season in Norfolk County, which means a busy and colorful time for the Berkel family, she mentioned.

It looks like “one giant rainbow,” said Berkel, who runs Berkelbloem U-pick Tulip Farm with her husband, Drew, situated between Delhi and Simcoe, Ont.

“This is probably our most colourful year yet.”

The farm is drawing flower enthusiasts from all over the province this spring, thanks to their annual Berkelbloem Tulip Festival, popular Mother’s Day weekend events, and 10 acres of pick-your-own tulip fields.

From Holland to Norfolk County

Drew started growing tulips just three years ago as a nod to his Dutch roots. He traveled to the Netherlands to meet suppliers and returned with a shipping container filled with 500,000 tulip bulbs and an ‘old-school’ potato and garlic planter from the 1960s, according to Drew.

Drew and Melanie Berkel and their four children stand in a tulip field on their farm. (Submitted by Melanie Berkel)

The Berkel family has been cultivating plants in greenhouses for generations in Norfolk County since the early 1900s. They initially focused on tomatoes and peppers before moving into tropical plants.

After purchasing a second farm, they noticed an empty six-acre lot behind their house that had potential for something new, she explained.

“That’s where we put the tulips,” said Melanie. Now it has grown into one million tulips every year.

Twenty varieties of tulips

The fields boast blooms from around 20 different types including Darwin hybrid tulips, jumbo tulips, lily-flowered tulips, fringed tulips, and parrot tulips.

“We’re growing pretty much every color of the rainbow,” said Melanie. “We have various shades of pinks, yellows, multi-colored ones that feature yellow and red or white and red or purple and white.”

The Berkel family is growing 20 varieties of tulips in all different colours. (Berkelbloem/Facebook)

“It’s our backyard. So waking up to this every morning for a few weeks while seeing thousands of people enjoy it is incredible.”

How to grow a million tulips

Drew mentioned it takes about a week to plant one million bulbs. “Essentially we put 140,000 bulbs per acre.”

But that’s not all; they dig up the bulbs after flowering season ends to prevent fungal diseases like tulip fire only to replant them come fall, Melanie explained.

“Tulips can be pretty finicky and get diseased very easily,” she added.

The sprouts usually start popping up in April before colors explode within just weeks.

Now thousands are enjoying what they’ve worked hard for over these months.

Their Tulip Festival happened during the first weekend of May-it was their busiest one yet! Now they’re gearing up for Mother’s Day weekend which tends to be their peak time of year; they expect tickets will sell out quickly,” Melanie noted.

They suggest buying tickets ahead of time if you’re planning on visiting during the weekend but welcome visitors any weekday at the gate without prior arrangements.

You can find them at 466 Windham Road 12 west of Simcoe; tickets can be purchased ahead at berkelbloem. ca.

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