liberation 75 tulip bulbs

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Dutch children riding on a Sherman tank of Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), Harderwijk, Netherlands, 19 April 1945.

When you’re putting in bulbs this fall, why not put in a few Liberation 75 tulips in support of the 1.1-million Canadians who served in World War II? Next year, 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands and the end of the war.

Canada has had a special relationship with the Netherlands since World War II, when Princess Juliana and her children stayed in Canada. Her third child, Princess Magriet, was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital; the rooms the princesses were in were declared by Parliament to be “extraterritorial” for the occasion so that the baby would not have Canadian citizenship, which would have made her ineligible to be in the royal line of succession. Princess Juliana, who would become Queen Juliana in 1948, showed her gratitude to Canada when she returned home by sending 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa. The royal family and the Dutch Bulb Growers Association have added 20,000 per year since then.

The Canadian Garden Council, along with the Canadian Legion, Dutch airline KLM and a handful of garden-related organizations, is offering bags of a tulip dubbed Liberation 75 this year. The aim is to get 1.1 million of these tulips planted this fall: a bulb for each Canadian who served in WWII. To help get people inspired, KLM is giving away a package of 2 tickets to Amsterdam and $2,000 cash.

You get one entry to win this prize for every bag of 15 bulbs that you buy. You can add to your chances by uploading photos of you planting the bulbs to Facebook or Instagram and by posting more photos, next spring, of the finished product. (Use hashtags: #PlantingLib75 and #BloomingLib75.)

The Liberation 75 tulips celebrate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.

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Find out all about the Liberation 75 tulips.

https://liberation75.ca/

In addition, $1 from every $15-bag of bulbs goes toward the Canadian Legion. The remaining funds from the sales will go toward the Canadian Tulip Festival. h

The Liberation 75 tulips celebrate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.

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Too late for bulbs?

First, if you can get a spade into the soil you can plant tulips. But if the ground has frozen early or if you are reading this article late, plant your tulips in big pots with lots of soil and keep them in an unheated garage or shed through the winter. Water them monthly. When spring comes, bring your pots outside, give them a good watering and your tulips will grow and bloom.