If Chicago were a flower, it would likely be a tulip. Strong, sturdy, wind resistant and beautiful, not to mention a hardy “winter’s over” rejoice.
And now Chicago has its own breed of the popular harbinger of spring. Last week, the Magnificent Mile Association introduced the Magnificent Mile Tulip.
The “sunshiny bright yellow” bloom features “really fine tips of red and a tangerine orange that intensifies as it matures,” said Susan Jablonski, marketing committee chairwoman for the association.
It took 16 months to create the new Magnificent Mile Tulip, which is now blooming in the medians of Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. If you like them, you can purchase the bulbs for planting in your own yard this fall. (Magnificent Mile Association)
The 4,000 new blooms can be seen at 625 N. Michigan Ave., flanking a giant metal sculpture created by Chi Labs Studios, Jablonski said.
Chicago has a long love affair with the tulip. The display of Mag Mile tulips, baptized April 17 by Bart Twaalfhoven, consul general of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, complements the thousands of red, purple, white and yellow tulips now blooming along the Michigan Avenue medians and in Millennium Park.
The city plants the tulip bulbs in the medians, Jablonski said, while property owners, many of whom are members of the association, are responsible for their own unique beds and landscape.
“That’s why you see so many different artistic versions,” she said.
Though it’s soft and silky and often looks fragile, the tulip is among the sturdiest of blooms. It has a long history, fraught with drama, suspense and its own brand of “mania.”
According to the Tulip Museum in Amsterdam, amsterdamtulipmuseum.com, the tulip began as a wildflower in the mountains of Central Asia. It caught the eye of passing soldiers and traders, who carried its seeds and bulbs to Persia and Turkey, the site says.
From there, they made their way to Germany, France and, in the mid-1500s, to Holland, thanks to plant enthusiast and Dutch breeder Carolus Clusius.
Clusius was the first to study what has come to be called the Tulip Breaking Virus, “a disease that caused single color tulips to erupt in the ruffles, flames, feathers and streaks of multiple colors that drove the Dutch wild during Tulipmania,” the tulip museum site says.
The unique coloring led to tulips becoming a hot commodity in the Netherlands during the 17th century and has stayed that way. In 1849, a salesman was sent to New York and Washington, D.C., to hawk bulbs. By the turn of the 20th century, Americans were buying more than $1 million worth of tulip bulbs each year, the museum notes.
During World War II, when many of the Dutch were starving, the bulbs served as a source of food. The website offers instructions on how to cook them, if you’re so inclined.
Today, there are tulip festivals around the world. The Amsterdam Museum features seven Instagram accounts for fans to keep up with tulip happenings.
Here in Illinois, in addition to the annual Chicago display, tulip lovers can find huge displays of the flower at the Chicago Botanic Garden, www.chicagobotanic.org, and at Richardson Farm in Spring Grove, richardsonadventurefarm.com/TulipFestival/Home.
Jablonski said bringing the Mag Mile tulip to life was a 16-month collaborative effort that involved De Vrooman Garden Products Company, Clarence Davids landscapers and Chalet Nursery, chaletnursery.com/products/the-magnificent-mile-tulip-gift-box-of-20-bulbs, which is handling delivery of consumer orders for the new bulbs.
Bringing a Chicago version of “Tulipmania” to life began more than a year ago, Jablonski said. “There’s no playbook on how to do this. It took a lot of research, finding the right people, and then planting last October.”
The Magnificent Mile tulips are mid-to-late bloomers, she said, but a mild winter forced them to open a few weeks earlier than expected.
“We wanted something that would reflect Chicago and the enduring charm of the Magnificent Mile,” she said. “I think we accomplished that.”
For more information on Chicago’s own tulip, go to www.themagnificentmile.com/the-magnificent-mile-tulip/.
Better yet, head to Michigan Avenue asap, because, if you know anything about tulips, timing is everything.
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years. She can be reached at donnavickroy4@gmail.com.
