The lawns of Washington Park might look dull now but in a few weeks, its dirt beds will be filled with Tulips. Albany’s City Gardner says she hopes the flowers attract tourists right into the park.
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The lawns of Washington Park might look dull now but in a few weeks, its dirt beds will be filled with Tulips. Albany’s City Gardener says she hopes the flowers bring tourists right into the park.
Just off the heels of the NCAA Women’s basketball tournament, and soon after the eclipse, Albany’s in for another tourist attraction — Tulip Fest. Meet Albany’s City Gardener Jena DiTonno. If you think all she does is plant flowers, guess again, there’s a science behind it all…including the dirt.
“They say you can plant to 55 degrees, I like to play it safe and say 50 degrees," said DiTonno.
If you’re worried that the current cold, including the snow this week, will put a damper on future flowers, DiTonno says — don’t be. “The tulips actually like cold weather, so I'm not too concerned. I would be more scared if we had freezing temps or a lot of ice. But if it's just a little bit of snow and rain we're still good" said the city gardener.
Di Tonno might be in charge but she gets just as dirty as her employees. “People always make comments because I wear my wedding band, and I have my nails done. But my nail techs are very patient with me, and my wedding bands get cleaned very often" the gardener said.
But It’s a labor of love. People coming from near and far to see her team's hard work make it all worth it for DiTonno.
“We've met people from all the surrounding states like Massachusetts, Vermont, some as far as Connecticut DiTonno told NEWS10's Zion Decoteau. “Tourism from downtown. It's an easy trip up here to get to the park" she added.
DiTonno spent 16 years in her field literally and worked her way up to Albany’s top gardener. She says the community feedback has been wonderful.
“We’ll be out in the medians working in the garden, and people stop and yell at the red lights, Oh thank you so much. Everyone appreciates it, and it just…kind of takes a little pressure off of how serious the world is" DiTonno said.
Washington Park's Tulips should begin blooming from mid-April into May. Tulip Fest is Mother’s Day Weekend: May 11th-12th.
