VALLEY, Neb. (KMTV) — Nelson Produce & Farm in Valley has transformed into a scene reminiscent of the famous tulip fields in the Netherlands. This marks the second year the public can visit the tulips put on display by Pam Nelson and her husband.
"April is the month we got married and tulips were our wedding flower, and so it's sweet to have a plethora to be able to wake up to and walk out to," Pam Nelson said.
The romantic setting has attracted others as well.
"Last year we had seven proposals," Nelson said.
New this year is a pick-your-own section, which is bringing plenty of visitors to Valley. Almost 3,500 people visited on Sunday alone, including a family visiting from Ukraine. Nelson says almost 20,000 visitors came last year.
"It was so sweet to just hear of stories of like we've always wanted to make it to the Netherlands. Last year there was someone's wife who got sick and they couldn't make it, but then they saw this and were able to come out here," Nelson said.
So how does one get their hands on this many tulips? Nelson explained that around two years ago someone living in Ohio bought about 400,000 bulbs for a customer, who backed out of the deal. They took to the internet looking for anyone to take the flowers off their hands and eventually found the Nelsons.
It takes specific conditions to get the tulips looking just right. In fact, Nelson tells me that this year the flowers bloomed earlier than expected due to recent weather. Aside from the tulips, the Nelsons grow lots of watermelon and plant other flower gardens for the summer and fall.
"All of this is going to be sunflowers," Nelson said as we passed an empty plot of land on her golf cart.
Visitors can check out the tulips through next weekend. The other flower displays will run from June through October.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and
