Some gifts are so obvious just from the box that you don’t have to open them to know what is inside. A flat rectangular orange and brown box has to be an Hermès scarf. Dark blue long rectangular boxes must be ties from Brooks Brothers. Other gifts are a big surprise when you open them.
I expected that the Tulip Festival at the Residence of the ambassador from the Netherlands this year would be the first kind of gift. It seemed hard to imagine what could be surprising about a lovely celebration of colorful spring tulips in one of the prettiest embassies in Washington, hosted by the Ambassador, Birgitta Tazelaar, herself. As you approached the Ambassador’s Residence at 2347 S St NW, you were greeted with festive boxes of tall orange tulips on the steps leading to the front door. Clearly, there was a tulip party happening.
However, once inside, the 2025 Tulip Festival, which commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, was surprisingly moving. This year’s tulip festival celebrated the friendship between the US and the Netherlands at the end of World War II, the flowers in Anne Frank’s short life, the American Military Cemetery in the Netherlands, and our very own Rosie the Riveter.
The commemoration began in the entry hall with a pair of tall photos of Dutch citizens greeting US troops on Liberation Day at the end of the war. Red, white, and blue tulips, evoking the US flag, marched up the steps of the grand marble staircase which was inspired by the staircase at the Petit Trianon in the Palace of Versailles. The staircase was framed with more tulips in clear glass vases hanging from the ceiling. (Who gets to water those tulips?) At the top of the stairs were even more boxes of orange-pink tulips that contrasted beautifully with an impressive modern flower tapestry by Martin van Vreden. The tapestry itself was woven as part of an occupational therapy project for disabled adults in a social work center.
Ambassador Tazelaar, in her welcome speech, talked about the close friendship between the Dutch and US people, which was strengthened by the US soldiers fighting for Dutch freedom. She shared that her own father, at the age of 8, remembered celebrating the arrival of the American soldiers in his town and climbing up on a US tank that day.
Upstairs on the second level of the Residence, in the dining room, was a display of tulips and other spring flowers dedicated to Anne Frank. As the Ambassador explained, in Anne Frank’s diary, she wrote about the much-appreciated gift of flowers from friends and helpers like Miep. On the tables in the dining room were arrangements of spring flowers such as those mentioned in The Diary of Anne Frank. There were bright yellow daffodils, pink and white peonies, carnations, violets, roses, and purple hyacinths, together with quotations from Anne in the diary about the flowers. Besides the occasional gifts of flowers, Anne kept in touch with the changing seasons by looking through the only window in the annex at the 100-year-old chestnut. Celebrating that historic chestnut were three horse chestnut trees silhouetted against the tall windows of the dining room, and there were chestnuts scattered around the tables between the vases of flowers. Standing in that beautiful room, which has been the location of so many diplomatic festivities, you could still sense the sadness of a young girl locked away in a secret annex, watching the seasons change on the branches of that lone chestnut tree. Saplings from that tree have been collected, cultivated, and then replanted in several locations in the US, including in Los Angeles, Omaha, Pittsburgh, White Plains, NY, and Branchburg, NJ.
The Residence library is a large but inviting room with contemporary Dutch upholstered furniture and a stunning ornamental plaster ceiling. The library was decorated with simple white tulips to commemorate the American military cemetery in the Netherlands, located in the village of Margraten, 10 km east of Maastricht. The 8,000+ graves at Margraten have been adopted by Dutch families, who keep the headstones clean and bring flowers to celebrate special holidays, such as Memorial Day. While the other fireplaces in the residence were filled with multicolored tulips to evoke the flames that would be there on a chilly winter day, the fireplace in the library was filled with white tulips that echoed the white tombstones in the cemetery. Laid out on the coffee table between two large modern Dutch sofas was a cross filled with white tulips. Both the dining room and the library were silent and moving testaments to the devastation and grief that the Netherlands suffered during WWII.
After those strong emotions, it was time to be uplifted. In the living room was a large poster of Rosie the Riveter, a fictionalized woman who stands for all the women who took part in the war effort in the United States, turning out thousands of airplanes and other war supplies.
The large poster of Rosie with her red headscarf and strong arm is matched by a mirrored display of flowers that reflects the image of Rosie as you would see it in a pool of water. When you first look at the floral display, you don’t appreciate the detail that went into making this incredible exhibit. You have to take a step back and look at the large poster with the flowers spread out beneath it to grasp how magical this presentation is.
The flowers at the base of the poster were a reflection of the poster itself in the same colors. In pinks, reds, blues, yellows, white, and peach flowers was the poster of Rosie herself. The florist explained that the flowers were misted and carefully watered several times a day to maintain their exquisite freshness and color. The theme of Rosie the Riveter was so popular that there is a new tulip, which was announced during this year’s tulip celebration, named in her honor.
There were flowers throughout the living room, from the colorful flowers in the fireplace and in vases in the windows to a charming arrangement of blue and yellow tulips on the piano in honor of the Ukrainian flag, which also flew outside the Residence next to the Dutch flag.
Other arrangements of tulips highlighted some of the beautiful art throughout the Residence. For instance, the 1618 Portrait of a Lady by Paul Moreelse was matched with a traditional arrangement of pink, burgundy, and orange tulips, while the 1993 photograph by Dana Lixenberg, Wilteysha, was complemented by a more casual arrangement of pinks and yellows with accents of tall thin branches. Near the entrance to the dining room is a tall white tulip vase pyramid made by the Royal Porceleyne Fles, which is the only survivor of the approximately 32 pottery factories that were found in Delft in the mid-17th century. That historic pyramid vase, filled with pink, white, and purple tulips, had a very contemporary air. In another room was a classic blue and white Delft vase filled with splashy pink and white tulips, placed in front of a late 18th-century Flemish landscape painting by Henri van Assche.
After admiring all the colorful tulips throughout the Residence, it was time to leave. Happily, however, the surprises were not done. Just inside the front door was a beautiful flower cart filled with buckets of tulips. There was a bouquet for each of the visitors to take. It was hard to choose.
Lise Howe is an Associate Broker with Keller Williams Capital Properties, licensed in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Recognized as a Best Realtor by Washingtonian magazine for nine consecutive years (2016–2024), Howe is also a licensed attorney in Washington, D.C., a trusted local expert on the region’s dynamic real estate market, and an advisor to Diplomatica Global Media on real estate issues. https://thelisehowegroup.com/