Surround Yourself With 65,000 Tulips at the Tulip Immersion Garden in Holland

May 8, 2023 · by Jonathan Katje · in Family Trips

Tulip Time has once again returned to Holland, Michigan! 2023 marks the 94th year of this fantastic and family-friendly event that celebrates the area’s Dutch heritage with a week full of flowers, dancing, carnivals and markets, and more. We braved a little bit of rain to head out to Holland last Saturday and visit the Tulip Immersion Garden at Beechwood Church. This is the second year that the immersion garden has been part of Tulip Time and since we missed our chance to see it last year we couldn’t pass it up this time around.

The Tulip Immersion Garden was incredibly popular last year, drawing in 14,000 visitors. In 2023 it has expanded from 50,000 flowers to 65,000 flowers and moved from the Ottawa County Fairgrounds to the campus of Beechwood Church. From the Tulip Time website: “World renowned Dutch horticulturist, Ibo Gülsen, will display over 65,000 tulips in three stunning, raised displays to immerse guests in chest and eye-level tulips. The displays tell the story of how the Dutch found the tulip being cultivated in Turkey, brought them home to the Netherlands where they blossomed into a cultural craze, and, finally, came to be celebrated as part of Holland, Michigan’s heritage in the Tulip Time Festival. Another part to the display is the incorporation of history and living beauty sharing the story of the delft artwork the Dutch are famous for.”

We loved learning about the history of the tulip, seeing the delft artwork, learning about how tulips made their way to Holland and then eventually to Michigan, and how tulips have been incorporated into paintings. There are many informational signs spread throughout the display area, so make sure and take time to learn!

The cost to visit the Tulip Immersion Garden at Beechwood Church is $15 per person ($5 for children 3-12, 2 and under Free) and tickets are sold for one hour time slots (9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday 12-3 p.m.). Pets are not allowed in the exhibit area. The garden is open until May 14th.

This was an awesome experience and one that produced a lot of great photos. If you’re looking for Instagram-worthy content during Tulip Time, this is one of the best places for it! The display areas have been designed and set up for photo opportunities and we enjoyed seeing people from all over (license plates in the parking lot included Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Kentucky, Florida, and more) in Holland enjoying the tulips!