LEWES, Del - The tulips in Lewes have started to wilt after the city's annual tulip celebration, but for nature-loving neighbors, there was an opportunity to keep the beauty going at their own homes.
The City of Lewes held their 17th annual Tulip Dig today, letting neighbors come and dig up tulip bulbs for their own home gardens.
Over 32,000 tulip bulbs were planted in Lewes in the fall 2025 for the city's 2026 tulip celebration, according to Lewes in Bloom volunteers, who help run the event.
They tell WBOC that means based on the number of people who showed up to the dig today, each person could have taken home about 200 to 250 bulbs.
Kathy McDonough with Lewes in Bloom says they always start fresh in the fall planting season with new tulips, which is why they invite the public to dig up the old ones after the festival in the spring.
"It's just something we do for the community," she says. "They're happy to bring a piece of it home to their gardens."
(Lewes in Bloom)
Co-chair of the 1812 Park Cindy DeEmedio says she loves the sense of accomplishment that comes from planting the flowers and seeing them bloom.
"It gives us pride in our community," says DeEmedio. "I love the feeling that we get when we walk through the park, inspecting our work, and there's people there, taking pictures and commenting about how beautiful it is."
The gardens included in today's dig were:
- Zwaanendael Park
- 1812 Park
- Gateway Garden
- Stango Park
- Margaret Rollins Community Center/Lewes Library
- Mary Vessels Park
- Otis Smith Park
- Post Office Garden
- Lighthouse Garden
- Dogfish & Graves Corners
The Lewes Tulip Celebration is sponsored both by the Lewes Chamber of Commerce and Lewes in Bloom.
