Thanksgiving Point Successfully Completes Guinness World Records™ tulip planting

Last Friday morning, Thanksgiving Point was named the official Guinness World Record title holder for Most Flower Bulbs Planted in One Hour. The previous record, recorded in Oshima, Japan, in 2020, was 15,690 bulbs. Thanksgiving Point’s staff and volunteers enthusiastically planted 41,089 bulbs, doubling the previous record.

Over 120 community volunteers and 40 staff members planted, on average, more than 250 bulbs each in one hour. An official adjudicator from Guinness World Records, Michael Empric, was on-site monitoring the event and awarded Thanksgiving Point with a plaque declaring it as the official record holder. Thanksgiving Point Horticulture Coordinator Sarah Allred and Communications Manager Abby Allard accepted the award.

One volunteer gardener, Pam May, said, “It’s so exciting for me to be here. I knew we would accomplish the goal. It’s fun to volunteer with people who love gardening and want to socialize and spend time in the beautiful gardens.”  

Every year in early October, Thanksgiving Point must plant over 500,000 spring flower bulbs (including tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and more) to host the Tulip Festival in the 50-acre Ashton Gardens. Hundreds of volunteers help the gardeners plant these bulbs, and their community service helps make the Tulip Festival a success. Thanksgiving Point attempted a new world record to highlight volunteer efforts and encourage public participation in community service initiatives.

The Tulip Festival hosts over 140,000 people annually and is the only Tulip Festival of its size in the state. The 2023 Tulip Festival will be in late April and May.