A tulip Mother’s Day tradition is born

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A new Mother’s Day tradition is blooming from within the Island’s charming gingerbread village in Oak Bluffs.

In the day’s leading up to the Sunday holiday, Laurie DeJongh — a mother of two and steward of the pink-and-white gingerbread cottage at 7 Central Ave. called the Sea Shrimp — invited Islanders to pick tulips from her front yard walkways for a heartfelt Mother’s Day gift. 

DeJongh has been sharing her tulips with friends and neighbors for years, but this is the first time she extended her invitation to the broader community via the Islanders Talk Facebook group. This year, she wanted to give back a little extra.

“I feel I am blessed to own this historical house and I love flowers, so I just want to share a piece of our community to the locals,” said DeJongh. “It just grew into asking the community to come so we could give back and so people could come and pick for their moms.”.  

DeJongh’s idea to share her Tulips with locals also helps her transition the property’s gardens from perennials to annuals, and begin preparing her house for the annual Gingerbread Cottage Tour, held in August. “People from all over the world come to see my house. I want to make sure it always looks as pretty as possible,” she said. 

As for how the new Mother’s Day tulip picking actually worked, DeJongh said that anyone could stop by to pick their own whether she was there or not, no costs or fees. And there was a good showing. She planted a thousand bulbs and by Mother’s Day, all the flowers had been picked.

“I want to do it every year,” DeJongh said of her new tradition.