12,000 red, white, and blue tulips will flank Dilworth Park to mark Semiquincentennial
The annual planting of tulips this year will have a special color scheme in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Edgar Escobar, a landscaper, tore open a sack of 100 tulip bulbs and spread them close together in the dirt at one of the gardens at Dilworth Park on the west side of Philadelphia City Hall.
The bulbs were some of 12,000 planted in a single day, part of an annual ritual orchestrated at Dilworth by the Center City District (CCD).
Indeed, the park pulsed with activity Thursday as workers dug in spring gardens, erected the Wintergarden display, and assembled the Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink in a race to complete the transformation by next week.
The Wintergarden and rink debut on Nov. 14, and the bulbs must be in the ground now to bloom in April and May.
“It’s crunch time,” said Leo Manning, a spokesperson for the CCD, as he walked by the dozens of workers on site. “But it’s exciting — the holiday hustle and bustle.“
By early next year, the tulips will steal the spotlight.
Red, white, and blue
Departing from the usual wide bouquet of yellows, pinks, purples, and other colors, the planting this year will showcase only three colors: red, white, and blue. It’s a patriotic tribute to the Semiquincentennial in 2026, marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall.
CCD, a nonprofit improvement district funded by businesses to maintain Center City, performs street cleaning, security, landscaping, and setting up signs, as well as helping to redesign Dilworth Park.
Each November, CCD choreographs a mass tulip planting timed to erupt in color come spring. Past displays featured a rainbow of hues, but this year’s palette is designed to honor history, Manning said.
Jinah Kim, an urban designer with CCD, said now is the best time to plant for the start of the spring season.
The planting itself only takes one to two days with a team of 12 composed of CCD staff and a contractor, Brightview.
Kim said the design features mostly red and white tulips combined with blue hyacinth.
As part of the planning, existing plants in the beds along the headhouses and entrances to the park are dug up and stored for later use in Sister Cities, Cret, and John F. Collins Parks. CCD also manages horticulture for 490 planters and 960 trees along Center City streets and in the four parks.
This year, tulips will be planted only in Dilworth Park. The new bulbs are sourced from Vineland-based Netherland Bulb Co. Overall, there will be approximately 4,500 red tulips, 4,500 white tulips, and 3,000 blue hyacinths.
Kim said the tulips and hyacinths emerge at slightly different times.
“In general, they start blooming in April until mid-May,” Kim said. “We plant by stacking them so they take turns blooming. But they’ll bloom mostly together at peak season.”
The Wintergarden
In addition, CCD workers were busy planting the annual Wintergarden at Dilworth Park, which is also evolving from past years.
Instead of using hard-edged metallic boxes throughout the Albert M. Greenfield Lawn, the Wintergarden will feature more organic curves and biodegradable edging. About 90% of the plants will be reused across CCD’s other parks throughout the year.
Wintergarden construction started Sunday. It will consist of a variety of evergreen plants, along with some deciduous trees and shrubs that are either in fall foliage or expected to bloom between now and February, depending on weather.