These tulip fields in Rhode Island and Connecticut represent an immigrant story, a love story, yankee ingenuity and small business/ entrepreneurship at it’s best.
Jeroen is a native of Holland and a third generation tulip farmer. Keriann is a New England Native. They planted 300,000 bulbs in their first field in 2019 by hand on land that they leased from the state in Johnston, RI. Their tickets routinely sold out. They expanded, so they would not have to disappoint their customers with sold out days. This year, they planted 1.5 million bulbs (now they have a tractor) in three fields, 2 in Rhode Island and 1 in Connecticut.
The U pick ticket price includes 10 stems. You can purchase more tulips and bulbs at their sites as well. Their website and on line ticket sales are flawless. You can print your ticket or save on your phone or they can look up your name when you get there.
Both their website and Instagram Feed are filled with wonderful photos of their growing family and business. The fields are well staffed with enthusiastic, friendly faces in Orange T- Shirts and they provide Orange Buckets for you to collect your stems in. The paths between the rows are well maintained. There are benches and picnic tables. The different varieties, and there are lots of them, are labeled in the field.
It’s a short – two to three week season – and they have staggered the plantings to lengthen the picking days. We went on a rainy day and the fields were filled with umbrellas and yellow slickers and smiles. The showers didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.☔️
This shot of the Johnston RI field is from their Instagram Feed and to me it’s perfect, because when you arrive at any of their fields, you do feel as if you are at the end of rainbow. 🌈
If you are reading this too late to make plans this year, put on your calendar for next April.💐