Belleville in bloom: More than 300,000 tulips wash Eckert’s Farm in vibrant color
Despite recent swings in the weather, spring has arrived in the metro-east.
More than 300,000 tulips are blooming at Eckert’s Farm in Belleville. Farm managers say they wanted to create a kickoff to the homegrown and picking season.
“We got the idea because we saw a few other farms across the country doing it, and they were all having so much fun with it,” said Angie Eckert, the farm’s vice president of retail operations.
“We felt like the tulip field wouldn’t be a tulip field if it didn’t have the windmill, so our handy carpenters in-house built that.”
This is the first time in more than 180 years that the farm has added a pick-your-own crop to its portfolio.
The high temperature dropped more than 40 degrees overnight after a cold front and heavy rain, but that didn’t stop Staunton resident Diane Combs and Maryville resident Kelly Mushill from swinging by for fresh flowers.
“Well, we didn’t realize it was going to be this cold today,” said Mushill, her shoes muddy from the soil. “We bought tickets, and it’s a day off. So we’re here.”
Combs said she doesn’t think there’s a particular science to picking the best tulip.
“I’m just looking for what stands out to me when I go down the rows here, pretty colors,” she said. “Yeah, something that’ll look good together in my little bouquet.”
The latest cold snaps have been a pain for home gardeners, but Eckert said farmers and gardeners have to remain flexible.
“This has been an especially erratic spring,” she said. “... But you know, just like everything else, we adapt.”
If you want to check out the Eckert’s Farm Tulip Trail — stocked with photo opportunities, a cash bar and pick-you-own options — you can do so from:
- 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday ($14 online/$19 gate)
- 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday ($18 online/$24 gate)
- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday ($18 online/$24 gate)
Guests who wish to take tulips home can purchase a 10-stem picking bundle for $20, and portrait photographers who want to do client sessions at the farm can do so with a $150 permit for a three-hour block.
“It is our joy to grow things, and this one is super pretty,” said Eckert. “It just happens to coincide with the peach bloom, so you get a two-for-one out at Eckert’s.”
Here are some additional photos taken at the Eckert’s Farm Tulip Festival:
