Long Island Tulip Festival in full bloom
MANORVILLE, N.Y. -- The Long Island Tulip Festival, an incredible show of spring color, is in full bloom,
It's not exactly Holland, but the soil is a close match, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported Thursday.
April showers brought a rainbow of May flowers: ribbons of bright tulips right off the Long Island Expressway in Manorville.
"People come in here and their breath gets taken away," said Brittney Weiss of Waterdrinker Family Farm & Garden. "Nothing compares to the beauty of all the colors you see."
The family behind the Waterdrinker Farm decided to bring a little bit of Holland to Long Island, doubling down on its annul tulip festival and planting double the number of bulbs last fall.
"The bulbs come straight from Holland. We have roughly 75 different unique tulip varieties this year and again we have over 1 million tulips blooming," Marc Weiss said.
Holland is world famous for its tulip fields. Long Island East End soil and climate isn't much different, surrounded by water that moderates temperature.
"It doesn't get as cold at night and it doesn't get as warm," said Rob Carpenter of the Long Island Farm Bureau. "The soil is tremendous quality, which helps all of our agricultural crops, including tulips."
In mid-April, they emerge from gray fields and flood the landscape with a sea of colors.
"I think it's like a form of meditation. It's good self-care, it's good for your mental health just to come and literally tip toe through the tulips," Brittany Weiss said.
The expression "tulip mania" dates back to the 1600s, when the cost of a single bulb skyrocketed. Historians say it wasn't quite mania, but it was the start of a love affair with a spring flower that grows smiles.
"It's beautiful, like we're in a different country," one person said.
"This is great, we have this so close to New York City," said another.
"It's just mind boggling. It's beautiful," another person said.
It's picture-perfect if you pick the right day.
"The best time to visit actually, believe it or not, is on a cloudy day," Marc Weiss said. "There's just something about a cloudy day that makes for more vibrant photos in the tulip fields."
A short-lived joy, soon to be replaced with sunflowers springing up for Mother Nature's big show.
There's no picking tulips until the festival ends, probably this Sunday. The festival also features a brewery and food trucks. Click here to learn more.