Meet the designer behind the blooms of Ottawa’s Tulip Festival

Tina Liu is a Landscape Architect for the NCC. She is responsible for the design of the tulip beds in Ottawa. Photo by JEAN LEVAC /POSTMEDIAArticle content

Every spring, Ottawa’s Commissioner’s Park transforms into a sea of colour, with tulips carpeting its grounds. Behind the floral display is an intricately thought-out web of design, history and horticulture, led by Tina Liu, the senior landscape architect at the National Capital Commission.

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At the NCC, Liu manages the entire capital floral experience, with 120 tulip beds planted across the national capital region. That’s 14,000 square meters of tulips, roughly equivalent to nine National Hockey League rinks.

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Of those, 23 beds are a part of the Canadian Tulip Festival with more than 700,000 bulbs planted this season.

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“We design, plan, manage and maintain all the flower beds,” Liu said.

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With about 100 different species, varieties and cultivars in bloom, the festival has a wide display of biodiversity.

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Tulips are planted with precision and intent. Liu organizes beds based on bloom timing, colour combinations and even petal texture.

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Tina Liu is a Landscape Architect for the NCC. She is responsible for the design of the tulip beds in Ottawa. Photo by JEAN LEVAC /POSTMEDIAArticle content

She says she has designed some beds that face east to catch the morning sun, where she uses warmer colours. While others, like a bed dedicated to Indigenous communities with red, orange and yellow tulips, face west to capture the sunset.

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“Some of the petals that are thinner would have a lantern effect from the sunset,” she said.

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Creative themes also inspire Liu’s designs. One tulip bed this year is makeup-themed, featuring vanities named Lipstick, Blush, and Eyelashes, all in shades of pink and red.

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Another is dog-themed, showcasing tulips with names like Big Red, Labrador, Bingo and Cairns.

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“From the time I started designing and planning until you see the tulip blooming, it takes about 12 to 18 months,” Liu said. “As a landscape architect, I think designing space for people to enjoy is like a mission to me.”

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“As a designer, I can’t copy from what it was before. I always make new things. I always try new species or new cultivars.”

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Tina Liu is a Landscape Architect for the NCC. She is responsible for the design of the tulip beds in Ottawa. Photo by JEAN LEVAC /POSTMEDIAArticle content

Some beds serve symbolic and historical purposes. One is planted with the Canadian Liberator tulip, named to honour Canada’s role in the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War. Another features the rare Ottawa tulip.

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“It was named after Ottawa, but then, because it wasn’t ordered for many years, it couldn’t really keep up with the production,” she said. “So it took me a long time … I found the original breeder of the Ottawa and I have them grow it for me.”