Musical Tulip Set to Bloom for Easter

Feb. 1, 2011 - PRLog -- Ten-thousand tulips are set to bloom, come Easter Sunday at The Lamplight Inn Bed & Breakfast in Berlin, Ohio.

The inn, home of the “Singing Innkeeper,” the name proclaimed by the Amish, has been planting nine-colored tulips on its two-acre property for the past four years. Each year, the color of the tulips arranged into a 16-foot musical note are different. Last year, the note was filled with brightly-colored Tequila Sunrise tulips. This year, Larry and Helen Wilgus will use 850-Pink tulips, in support of breast cancer research and another 9,150 sprawled throughout the property. Entering its forth year, the Tulip Extravaganza proudly displays 10,000 spectacular blooms.

“It takes several weeks to hand-plant all the bulbs,” says Larry, which is no easy task. “After, I’m so sore, I can hardly move. It gets worse every year,” he jokes. Five years ago, Larry planted less than 850 total tulips. A year later he was at 6,000 tulips. Now it’s nearly doubled.

While the inspiration for this year’s pink flowers comes in memory of Larry’s sister, who passed away after a long struggle with breast cancer, the idea for the note itself was sparked by the Amish, of all people.

“We wanted to get a loan to buy the inn but being in beautiful Amish country with so many inns already out here, the loan officer asked what would be different about our inn,” explained Larry. “I told him I had a music degree and I play piano, so I said I’d sing and play for our guests.” That did it.

Now the music note further brands the inn’s musical image. Guests are treated to coffee, tea and iced tulip cookies from Easter Sunday through May 14th, the tulips’ three-week bloom period. Larry and Helen, married for nearly three dozen years, have their act down pat. Larry plants the bulbs and Helen bakes the tulip cookies. It takes Helen several days to bake about 500-cookies.

“The challenge is the icing,” says Larry. “You have to wait for that to dry and well, while it dries you have to taste the six different flavors. Make sure the yellow tulip cookies are just as good as the red ones,” he says. “I’m the official tester. It’s very hard work.”

The real tulips draw about 120 drive-by visitors a day. The cookie-tulips draw an overnight crowd. Year after year, the inn books up quickly. Now that’s something to sing about.
If you’d like to reserve a room at the inn and meet the singing innkeeper and his duet-baking wife call (866) 500-1122 or visit www.BnBFinder.com/Lamplight. Make sure to check the inn’s website for a real-time countdown calendar! PHOTOS AVAILABLE!

To find other Berlin bed and breakfasts or Ohio inns used the search feature on BnBFinder.com.

For more information contact Maria Coder at 212.480.0414 x 16 or email press@bnbfinder.com .

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