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The three million tulips that bloom in
Ottawa each spring are a symbol of the
friendship between Canada and the
Netherlands, a friendship that began in war
and has continued in peace.
When the Netherlands was invaded in 1940,
Crown Princess Juliana –– later Queen
Juliana –– escaped with her family to
Ottawa. In January of 1943, Crown Princess
Juliana gave birth to a daughter, Princess
Margriet, at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. In
order for the princess to born a Dutch
citizen, Canadian Parliament proclaimed her
birthing suite at the Ottawa Civic Hospital,
Dutch territory. Upon news of the birth of
the princess, the Dutch flag flew from the
Peace Tower (the only time in history that a
foreign flag has flown from the Peace Tower)
and the carillon on Parliament Hill rang out
the Dutch national anthem.
After the Dutch Royal Family returned home
in 1945, the people of the Netherlands sent
a gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada’s
Capital in appreciation not only for the
refuge that Canadians provided to the Royal
Family, but also for Canada’s military role
in the liberation of the Netherlands.
(These 100,000 tulips became the genesis of
the Canadian Tulip Festival held in Ottawa
each spring.)
Princess Juliana was so pleased by the
prominence given to the tulips in the
Nation’s Capital that she sent a gift of
20,000 bulbs, asking that a portion of them
be planted at the Ottawa Civic Hospital.
Every year since then, Ottawa has received
an annual gift of 20,000 tulip bulbs, half
from the Dutch Royal Family, as a lifetime
bequest of Queen Juliana, and half from the
International Flower Bulb Centre of Holland
on behalf of the growers and exporters of
flower bulbs. And, every year, 3,000 of
these bulbs are planted at the Ottawa Civic
Hospital.
Sadly Queen Juliana died in March 2004. In
August of that year, Ottawa received
notification that Queen Beatrix “will be
pleased to continue the legacy started by my
mother”. So, happily for the people of
Canada, the gift of friendship continues.
Millions of tulips, in over 70 varieties are
planted in Ottawa each year, most of them
blooming in mid-May. There are more tulips
blooming in Ottawa each spring than in any
other capital city in the world, including
Den Hague.
The Ottawa flower beds in which the tulips
are planted have evolved slowly over the
years into exciting carpets of colour that
now speak vividly of spring, peace and
international friendship to everyone who
sees them. |
