The beginning of summer: tulips on Yelagin Island

Summer always starts suddenly. First you have to survive a few months of winter. One month of winter is fun, two months is not bad, but more than three months is too long. But there's nothing to do, we have to wait. Snowfall in March is common, snowfall in April is common. The first flowers appear on the newly thawed ground, they are fragile, almost transparent. The first flowers, the first green blades of grass, the first leaves on the trees... and then suddenly, in two or three days, all the trees are dressed in their bright green outfits, everything around blooms and rejoices in the new summer.

The traditional Tulip Festival on Yelagin Island is one of the signs of the beginning of summer. The name of the festival includes only tulips, but it would be more accurate to say ‘the festival of bulbous first flowers’: other early varieties of bulbous flowers, such as daffodils and hyacinths, occupy part of the flowerbeds. The main plant of this festival, though, is the tulip. There are narrow paths deep into the flowerbeds, and you can walk along these paths and admire the flowers at close range.

The festival usually lasts three or four days, and there are many different events on the programme: concerts, exhibitions and other entertainment. But most of the tulips, daffodils and hyacinths have time to bloom before the festival starts, and continue to bloom for some time after the festival is over. For my taste, the best time for a walk is before or after the festival.

During these days there are not too many people in the park and you can walk or ride a bicycle, stopping at particularly picturesque places. Especially since cycling is prohibited during the festival. Bike hire is also only available on weekdays. However, this time I chose to walk - on purpose, so that I could move along the paths of the park without hurrying, without missing any beautiful views.