McLean’s 10,000 tulips finally bloomed over the last week. The tulips were donated to the community by Waterford Development Co. last year. Several members of the McLean Citizens Association Revitalization Committee turned out to celebrate the blooming bulbs, which are considered a part of the community's beautification campaign.
“Hopefully, something like this will spur more. Being a good corporate citizen has always been high on our list. This is what community is all about,” said Waterford CEO Jan Zachariesse.
The McLean Revitalization Corporation noted that the “little surprises” popping up all over town through Zachariesse’s generousity were also made possible by the efforts of several local groups. Local Boy Scout Troop 652 assisted the McLean Revitalization Corporation by packaging the 10,000 tulips in groups of 25 to 100 for distribution. 50 McLean merchants planted the bulbs on their property and the McLean Garden Club planted tulips around the “Welcome to McLean” signs. Two local landscapers also volunteered to plant the tulips for the MRC.
“The desire of the MRC is that this will be just the beginning of an annual tradition of ‘Red Tulips in McLean in the Spring’. It would be exciting to have people come to McLean to see the red tulips like they go to D.C. to see the Cherry Blossoms,” said a MRC release on the flowering bulbs.
MCA members Lane Gabeler and Virginia Foley have catalogued the successful tulips blooming at several local businesses. “The ones at McLean Family Restaurant really looked great,” said Gabeler.
District supervisor Joan DuBois also attended the celebration to see for herself what has been done over the past year and to assess what else can be done in the future to continue to make McLean an attractive community in which to live and shop.