Overwintering in the Garden
I Saw Holland, Michigan’s Late Blooms
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I have never been to Holland in the Netherlands, but there is a place in Michigan that successfully upholds Dutch customs and history. I just visited Holland, Michigan this fall. Even though I was in the United States, I felt like I was acquiring an education about the Netherlands and the immigration of the Dutch to the area of southwestern Michigan. The Dutch in their homeland were known for importing flowers and growing them -- the tulip was brought to The Netherlands from Turkey. Different kinds of flowers were raised by the Dutch in Europe. Holland, Michigan preserves its connection to the Dutch by hosting the Tulip Time festival each May when fields of tulips bloom in its public garden beneath the presence of a large, restored Dutch windmill.
Flower Painting in the Dutch Golden Age
In Michigan, I visited the Holland Museum, where I noted two
still life paintings of flowers. They appeared
so lifelike. Some Golden Age paintings
from the Dutch centered on still life of flowers, which widely were interpreted
as to convey the brevity of life, since the blooms were so temporary. Life in
general is so impermanent, at least to the individual. By the Golden Age, the Dutch Reformed Church
had banned religious artwork out of iconoclasm, so artists resorted to
depicting aspects of peasantry or still life of common objects. Yet the Dutch
people did not lose all religious meaning in their artwork. The still life of flowers was understood to
portray religious meaning. White lilies – seen as pure – urged the viewers to
be true believers in God.
Gardens Apart in Time
Like floral blooms, travel is fleeting. I was in Holland, Michigan for two days at
the end of September. Luckily for me,
the flowers that I saw on this trip were not limited to those in
paintings. Holland contains wonderful
sights of real flowers planted in gardens.
I visited Centennial Park which had so many blooming beauties. And I visited Windmill Island Gardens, the
public garden that features a large, functional windmill powered solely by wind.
The windmill produced flour in the past and was open for tours when I visited. I learned it was moved in pieces from The
Netherlands to Holland, Michigan in the 1960s.
In his book, “Dutch Flower Painting,” Paul Taylor explained
that the Dutch living in the Netherlands in the Golden Age, or the 1600s,
adored flower gardens, and not everyone could afford a garden. The land was pricey, so typically only
well-off families had flower gardens. This
was especially true in the towns. Flowers
were desired greatly. Cut flowers were
often displayed in ornate vases in wealthy Dutch households. Taylor examined Dutch poetry as it pertained
to gardens in the Dutch Golden Age to conclude that not only did the flowers
represent the shortness of life, but also the security and tranquility of the
countryside. Some also saw the natural
world as testament to God’s wisdom as Creator.
Not a Barren Winter
In speaking of flowers that come and pass, it is now approaching winter, and the beauty of nature must be represented by something other than fresh blooms. There are ways to ensure that natural life comes into a house year-round, even if the flower garden outside is retired for the season. As we head into the rest of fall and winter, I thought of some other things that adorn the interior of a house besides fresh flowers. Bring evergreen branches inside. Decorate twigs with ribbon and small ornaments after arranging them in a vase. Paint rocks to bring them color and to add life to an otherwise unassuming piece of nature. Painted twigs can be hung in a shadow box in the shape of a heart. Dry your flowers; it is a way to make them last into winter. Display a potpourri arrangement in a glass vase or make paper flowers. Hopefully these adornments will carry you through until spring. My travel habits usually take me out and about again at that time. I use winter to plan for the next outing. I’ll see what travel ideas germinate in that time.
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Centennial Park in Holland, Michigan
Work Cited
Taylor, Paul. Dutch Flower Painting. Yale University Press, 1995, New Haven.
Sites in Holland, Michigan
Besides visiting gardens, my trip to Holland, Michigan
offered me the chance to take a dinner boat cruise on Lake Macatawa, and to eat
and shop at the establishments along East 8th Street downtown. I enjoyed stopping at a bookstore to purchase
something to read, and I visited an eatery at Washington Square as well, which
was walkable from the Washington Boulevard Historic District. I also visited Holland State Park, which has
a beach on Lake Michigan, and saw Big Red Lighthouse, a short and stocky built
lighthouse at the passageway from Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan. The list of sites here is not all inclusive,
but you have an idea of Holland’s appeal to tourists.
Holland, Michigan is about a 6-hour car ride from
Cleveland, Ohio.
For More Information on Holland, Michigan
For Information on the Holland Museum
A Note About Terminology
The term “Dutch Golden Age” has sometimes been replaced with
“Dutch Era.” In the 17th
century the Dutch were involved in the slave trade and took harsh advantage of
peoples to achieve their wealth and good position. According to the website, Holland.com, the official website of the Netherlands for tourism, Dutch Era is
used now so as not to exclude this understanding of Dutch history.
