Not yellow or red, but a tulip in the style of the world-famous painting ‘The girl with a pearl earring’ by Johannes Vermeer, will be launched today during National Tulip Day.
Talk to Arjan Smit and you will hear the passion in his voice. He talks about tulips as if they were his children. “No matter how rotten the weather is, with a bunch of tulips you bring joy into your home.” The grower from West Friesland is the chairman of the Dutch Tulip Growers. Together with his approximately 400 colleagues, he is celebrating the existence of the plant today.
According to Smit, a perfect tulip is a sturdy plant with a tight leaf. “Which is not too short or too long, where everything is in proportion and the flower comes into its own.” According to him, the new Tulipa Dutch Pearl has it all.
Quote
You’re lucky to have one good one left. This one was head and shoulders above the rest
Arjan Smit, chairman Dutch Tulip Growers
Blue with yellow
You expect the flower to be blue and yellow, referring to the colors of the painting. But it has become white with pink, referring to the color of the pearl. According to the chairman, the idea arose because the event was forced to move. Nine times it took place on Dam Square, but the municipality no longer considered that place appropriate. That is why this year it is on Museumplein, opposite the Rijksmuseum.
From February 10, an exhibition will be held there with at least 28 paintings by Johannes Vermeer, promising to be the largest exhibition of the seventeenth-century master ever. His work The girl with a pearl earring was the inspiration for the special flower and the accompanying picking garden with more than 200,000 tulips is given the style of the painting Lady and maid.
skating rink
Since there is also a skating rink on Museumplein, Olympic skating champion – and also the daughter of a tulip grower – Irene Schouten will open the festivities. ,,Skating, tulips, Vermeer; all typically Dutch.”
In the picking garden, everyone can pick two bunches for free. The Tulipa Dutch Pearl is not yet included, because it is still ‘brand new’. In the coming years, the focus will be on propagation, so that the tulip will only be on the market from 2027.
Pollen
According to Smit, developing a new tulip is a lengthy process. “First the plants have to be crossed. The pollen of one must land on the pistil of the other. It produces about 2,000 seeds that are planted. It takes six years for the first flower to appear. Then a hard selection is made. You’re lucky to have one good one left. This one was head and shoulders above the rest.”
The National Tulip Day marks the start of the season that officially lasts until Mother’s Day. Despite the rising gas and electricity prices, the tulip is doing well, according to the chairman. Better than with other flowers. ,,It grows relatively fast; in three weeks he is out of his mind. It takes a Chrysanthemum three months. There can also be many stems per square meter.”
Still, growers cannot avoid a price increase. Where retail chains paid just under 2 euros per bunch last year, that will now be at least 2.50. This makes the tulip still one of the cheapest flowers, says Smit. Around two billion units are grown in the Netherlands. 80 percent goes abroad, mainly to Germany. “They love tulips there.”
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Tags: Masterpiece Johannes Vermeer inspiration tulip Interior
