Best Floral Town in the Midwest

Holland, Michigan is the Town That Becomes a Flower Festival

Every spring, a small city wakes to a blossom of millions of tulips in the Midwest. Like other themed towns, this pulls in visitors from all over to take in the sights of a flower festival. Specifically tulips, as a reminder to the town’s cultural heritage. Dutch immigrants built and influenced the small city. Come with me on a visit to the beautiful Holland, Michigan.

Recently I gave a sneak peek to my visit on the post, Tulips’n’Tulips All Around. My trip to Michigan started back home with a short 2.5-hour drive from Chicago. It was a foggy, early morning as we made our way. It began as all my road trips do with the familiar view of the skyline.

Oddly enough, it was my first trip to Michigan. I tend to visit Wisconsin far more for their small towns (and cheese). Indiana was more of a summer destination in my childhood for the dunes. But visiting Indianapolis made me reconsider the state in the future since it gave me one of my most favorite photography walks. In both day and night. So, I wondered what Michigan could bring to the table to inspire future visits.

The beautiful small city (with major small-town vibes) of Holland, Michigan started off well with an interesting breakfast place. It was aptly named, The Wooden Shoe. According to the online masses, this was a popular place (even for the locals), which was obvious when parking. It was full, with people coming in and out. There was a short line but moved very quickly.

Thought it was good news until I realized people were simply getting on the waitlist, a 15-minute wait for my group. Luckily, and a major reason this breakfast place is popular, people can stroll through the attached vintage (or maybe antique?) store. No clothing here, this was purely home goods, books, records, and more. This was a highlight for me and I took a look at their table books and records. I found a copy of the 1955 musical film, Oklahoma.

After spotting it, my eyesight went laser-focused with the hopes of finding the 1956 version of Carousel. No such luck, but I happily stuck with Oklahoma. The rest of the shop had many dishes and glass figurines, and other knickknacks. It was a great way to spend the wait. The store was extensive and I knew I’d be coming back on a future trip with more time planned for it.

We made the drive for the tulips after all.

The city didn’t disappoint at all with the tulips and several flowering trees blooming all over the place. It gave me a nice, suburban feel. Its main street was packed with restaurants and shops. The streets were filled with people. This year, Tulip Time (Holland’s flower festival) ran from a little over week from May 2-11. Outside of tulips being all over place, there was a schedule of events happening at the parks and through the small city. People were dressed in traditional Dutch clothing and dancing, artisan markets popped up, and I even spotted a carnival near main street.

As for the people walking all over, parking quickly became a slight challenge. We definitely did not come early enough to snag parking near Windmill Island Gardens. After parking a few blocks away, we made it to the entrance only to find…even more walking. I highly recommend getting in line for the school bus to take you down to the entrance if you need to minimize walking. The entry walk to get to the ticket booths became the entry line the closer one gets to the actual entrance. I’m guessing anyone taking the school bus is in a separate line but I think it might’ve been quicker.

Windmill Island Gardens has a parking lot for about 250 cars on-site but that quickly filled up. Once we were in, we first went into the visitor center for a map of the gardens. As I walked in, I was met with a horseshoe-shaped line for the ladies’ restroom. The men were able to stroll right into their own restroom, as it always happens. There was information on the walls about the Netherlands and the Dutch immigrants who significantly impacted Holland.

This visitor center also has another room past the lobby featuring a quick 10-15 minute video on the authentic windmill, De Zwaan (The Swan). It was constructed back in the Netherlands in 1884 and is still operable today. The video mostly goes into the process of explaining components of the windmill and how it grinds grain into flour. I highly recommend watching the video when you first arrive. My group didn’t even notice the room and only found it on our way out.

Outside the visitor center, the photo-taking frenzy was in full bloom (myself included). With so many variations of tulips, and combinations of different colors, types, and sizes, you are immediately called to ground. Every few steps have something new. Looking up, I found the Provincial Flags of the Netherlands, as in flags for each province in the Netherlands. I caught 10 of the 12 flags in the shot, so better luck in catching all in one shot when you visit.

Outside the flowers, the landscaping was in top shape. But I was happy to find a patch of succulents amongst the tulips. These were low and easy to miss but the bright color called my attention. Typically, I find succulents in much smaller numbers and used as a centerpiece or highlight in a garden. However, I loved this display as part of the landscaping. A great idea for anyone with a green thumb but needing low maintenance plants or gardens.

Even looking back in pictures, the shapes of foliage are more unique or like bushes. An easy way to bring texture and variety into any garden. These creeped low so also good to keep things neat. I’m curious how large and tall these can be grown in Michigan. Warm weather and bright sun in San Diego allow succulents to not only thrive but dominate in west coast gardens. But that post will be for another day.

Being at Windmill Island Gardens, you are naturally called to the massive De Zwaan Windmill. This is an authentic windmill from the Netherlands built in 1884 and brought to Holland, Michigan in 1964. A landmark all its own. You can actually climb up the Windmill once you make your way through rows of tulips.

There will be a photo carousel of the flower images at the end of the post.

As you near the windmill, the seemingly random art pieces are sprinkled around. This sculpture of a dress for instance is made up of blue and white Dutch plates. It’s locally made and of course, most pieces feature a flower detail on it. I found myself playing with my group as we tried to pose behind it (from a distance) to look as we’re wearing it.

Another fun art piece were tulip chairs, you needed to lower a petal to sit on it. There were also wooden tulip sculptures that were painted. A giant wooden shoe photo op, because…of course there was. Plenty of sculptures to look at outside of the gardens.

For science lovers, they had an Archimedes screw, also known as an Egyptian or water screw. You can operate this yourself to lift water from deeper to high levels. This was used for irrigation, dewatering mines, amongst other things. Or opt to watch people operate it, mostly families made their way to check this out.

But this playful kinetic wind spinner shaped like a pineapple was a fun little detail as well.

Making our way to the windmill, we came across the sign it, a stop for many visitors. This windmill was sold after a three-year negotiation with the Netherland government since windmills are considered a national monument.

Getting closer, I spotted a greeter at the entrance of De Zwaan (The Swan) Windmill in traditional Dutch clothing. Inside operated like a little museum providing information on history, construction of the windmill, and the components that turns grain into flour.

Cue the video showing the process and providing windmill background that would’ve been handy to watch before entering. This would be back at the visitor’s center near the entrance.

There were about four levels, with short flights of steps, doing for most retirees. There was even a level focusing on the wooden shoe process, showing the shoe at each phase.

But I really enjoyed seeing all of the little signs and images of windmills. There were lots of details to dig into, you’ll likely be stopping at each level.

This painting of ships and docks near windmills was my favorite. Fully in blue and white, this delicate piece really stood out in the wooden windmill.

The observation deck allowed to get a bird’s eye view of the gardens. Encircling the windmill, you can take a 360-degree look. But fair warning: the crowds look like ants and the tulips are far less impressive at this distance since it’s organized by color into batches of rows. You’re pretty much getting a dose of reality, almost like seeing the false glamour behind the curtain.

Comparing views from above and below is a funny, cue that clunky flute. This topic was focused on my post, When the Views Aren’t as Good as the Pictures, looking at the magic of photography vs the actual street in person. Holland is very a beautiful city; I’m simply referring to this view from the windmill being not as interesting as the views from below.

A totally different experience being among the tulips and seeing the beautiful, giant windmill in the background. You’d swear these were different places.

It is fun to look around though, many people parked at a few spots. Pictures are MUCH better and magical from below in the flower beds. You can easily build more intimacy and wonder from the “tulip view.”

But don’t be so quick to dismiss the windmill climb. You get a closer view of the structure and spot more decorative details, like this ship wheel.

The best images from the windmill itself has nothing to do with the view of the gardens. Be sure to look up for these angles. This windmill felt more a light house as you photograph it. If only we were by the sea…

After diving low for close-ups on the flowers, you can stroll the traditional streets of Dutch lands. Culturally, their architecture are defined by brick buildings in narrow buildings and decorative gambrel roofs. The appearance of tiered steps, the roofs in these images really stood out to me. Inside, you’d find more information on Dutch history (as well as local). One of the buildings had little model displays so you can stroll through.

The gift shop is also located here. Another warning, this shop was quite large and wide but was no match for the tourists. Outside of parking and the line to get in, this was one of the few moments I noticed how popular this place was. Crowding was not an issue anywhere else in the gardens, but the line was very, very long.

The gifts and trinkets are high quality and creative. Many variations of a tulip (or batches) on wooden shoes. There were also lots of painted ceramic tiles (and magnet versions too). I wanted to walk away with much more, but I’d recommend checking out these souvenirs before going anywhere else in Holland. I also remembered a lot of glass items. Lots of great choices here.

But the line was intense. I’d probably head to the gift shop first to more comfortably shop if you’re coming on the weekend. A strange move for sure, but I’d try that.

After the gift shop, I noticed this painted carousel. These drawn images provided a nice nostalgic touch, simple but a throw back to what our grandparents probably had.