Tulip

 Happy Victoria Day to my fellow Canadians. Today marks the end of the Tulip Festival in Ottawa and Gatineau, but just the start of my series on it. It has been a late year for the tulips, and for those in the area, it's still worthwhile to come out and check them out.

My first deliberate excursion was on the first Sunday of the festival, a bit over a week ago. Normally weekends during the festival are very crowded at Commissioners Park (and a nightmare for the photographer), but I left home at seven in the morning, and home is just a five minute walk away from the park, which rests around the north and east shores of Dow's Lake. It is the largest site of tulips for the festival, and this early in the morning, there were few people around. This first bed is at the west entrance to the park.

The tiny purple blooms we see are muscari, which are a common companion to the tulips.

This particular bed was dedicated by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in 1967. She and her daughters took refuge in Canada during the Second World War when she was the crown princess. After her death, the bed was re-dedicated in her name.