Barcelona, Spain
Montjuïc Cable Car
This cable car in Barcelona celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2020.
William Roozen’s ancestors cultivated tulips for centuries, in his homeland of Holland. He brought the trade with him to the US in the mid-twentieth century, seeking an opportunity to sow new seeds with generations of expertise in his blood.
He and his wife settled in Washington State’s Skagit Valley, where rich soil
and sea air offered ideal conditions for the Roozens to continue raising flower bulbs—in addition to ten children, many of whom shared his passion.
Within years, William had purchased the Washington Bulb Company, and ran it with the helping hands of his kids, who woke early and tended to the farm before school. They eventually inherited the company, along with his work ethic, and divided up
their rows of responsibilities: from farm operations to harvesting to liaising with Dutch associates. But it was one daughter among them who would go on to realize the company’s greatest potential.
Bernadette Roozen Miller left her career in bank management in the late 1980s to get her hands in the soil. She built a dream she would call RoozenGaarde, in honor of the family name (meaning “roses”) and the Dutch word for garden.
She envisioned, then actualized, one of the largest and most renowned flower gardens in North America. RoozenGaarde features acres of curated displays in addition to the working farm. The show garden—redesigned annually and replanted with millions of bulbs—yields a springtime showing that entices worldwide visitors.
Bernadette passed away too young, instilling her five brothers with that much more inspiration to continue cultivating her bright, expansive dream. The annual Tulip Festival draws the largest crowds, journeying in by all manner of vibrant transport.
RoozenGaarde and neighboring gardens are open to the public, offering a mesmerizing immersion among millions of vibrant tulips in their fullest bloom. Though the festival is seasonal, RoozenGaarde is open year-round—offering a perennial tribute to Bernadette, whose legacy blooms anew each year, in every possible shade.
Written By: Accidentally Wes Anderson
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