Tulips and Indo-Dutch ties in full bloom at envoy’s house in Delhi

A tulip festival showcasing over 50,000 blooms at the Dutch ambassador's residence in New Delhi celebrates Indo-Dutch ties and cultural collaboration.

New Delhi

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Marisa Gerards, and her husband Peter Knoope at their residence on APJ Abdul Kalam Road. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

A display of over 50,000 tulips in full bloom took centre stage at the residence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Marisa Gerards, on APJ Abdul Kalam Road on Sunday, as Gerards and her husband, Peter Knoope, discussed the connection between tulips and India.

Varieties of tulip form a central part of the charm of the Keukenhof botanical garden in the Netherlands, and these have now been put on display in the Capital.

“This festival is a celebration of the vibrant partnership between the Netherlands and India. The tulips in our garden symbolise the spirit of collaboration and shared growth that defines our relationship today. As we host the second edition of this festival, we are delighted to see it becoming an annual tradition that brings our communities closer, highlighting the warmth of Indo-Dutch ties,” said Gerards.

She said that there are over 3,000 registered tulip varieties across the world, and they were contemplating naming a variant after an important Indian leader or celebrity.

Gerards said that although officially adopted by the Dutch now, which produces over three billion tulips every year and accounts for nearly 80% of all tulips grown worldwide, the flowers originated in central Asia. “They were embraced by the Ottoman Empire and introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Over the centuries, tulips became deeply embedded in Dutch cultural identity, evolving from ornamental garden flowers into national icons admired across the world. But we want to thank Asia for them,” she said

The display at their residence consisted of multiple coloured tulips, including white ones, to form the “peace” symbol. Gerards, when questioned which colour tulip represented the Indo-Dutch connection the best, also referred to the same white tulips. “They speak of peace and our relations are similar.”

The ambassador further said they tried to preserve the bulbs of all tulips planted at the residence last year, but most perished. However, efforts will be made to preserve and grow more bulbs this year – from the variants which were able to survive. She also referred to the rising heat as a challenge in preservation.

“Some are already beginning to fade, but even then, they are beautiful. We planned to throw open this festival sooner, but there were restrictions due to the AI summit,” she said.

Knoope, meanwhile, explained that even if the flowers fall off, the tulip is not “dead”.

“The male and female parts of the flower remain intact and ‘young’ tulips wait inside to bloom again. However, most farmers focus on the bulb underneath the soil – an asexual way of producing more tulips. Each bulb produces three to four bulbs; so, with 60,000 bulbs, one can easily get 250,000 bulbs. Farmers back home thus focus on the bulb more – for the economy aspect, more so than the flowers,” Knoope said.