What’s the “connection” of Dutch Connection?

Beginning February 14, the Eastman Museum will be blooming with Dutch Connection, the annual forced bulb display. This is the 26th year we have filled George Eastman’s mansion with the sights and scents of spring during the dreary winter months. Here, Landscape Manager Dan Bellavia explains the link between George Eastman and our present-day floral show.

In 1895, George Eastman went on a bicycle tour of Holland. In a letter to his mother, he wrote excitedly about the array of colors and textures of the flower fields — acres upon acres of spring colors. He spoke of the desire to bring some of that to his own gardens. Once Eastman had finished the construction of his East Avenue estate in 1905, he began placing yearly orders for thousands of spring bulbs. Each year, he would order bulbs to plant in his gardens and to force in pots for decorating the house.

In 1995, one hundred years after that bicycle trip, the Landscape Department took on the task of connecting a wintertime show for museumgoers with George Eastman’s own displays of forced bulbs. In the first year, 250 pots containing about a thousand bulbs were placed in the Conservatory. The goal was to put together a show that would represent the types and colors of spring bulbs Eastman ordered for his mansion. Many of the original varieties are no longer available, but with the help of the horticulture library at Cornell University, we were able to conduct research and identify bulbs similar to those Eastman had.

As the show has grown over the years, so has the work to put on such an extravagant floral display — it has become a year-round endeavor. This year’s Dutch Connection has more than 1,500 pots containing over 14,000 bulbs, along with select spring annuals.

To learn more, we invite you to attend one of our in-depth discussions about the history and the magic behind our spring floral show: Behind the Scenes of Dutch Connection.

Dutch Connection (on view February 14–March 1) is generously supported by Gerald and Karen Kral and by St. John’s. In-kind support provided by the Monroe County Parks Department and Lucas Greenhouses, Fairport.