Tulips for Amsterdam: Growers hand out free flowers

AMSTERDAM (AP) — As stores in Amsterdam and across the Netherlands cautiously reopened after weeks of a coronavirus lockdown, the Dutch capital’s mood was further lightened by dashes of color as thousands of free bunches of tulips were handed out. National Tulip Day is usually marked by an improvised flower garden in front of the royal palace on the capital’s central Dam Square. But with the pandemic restricting large public gatherings in the European nation, organizers this year took to Amsterdam’s World Heritage-listed canals on Saturday to hand out their flowers. The event is held each year to celebrate the start of the growing season for the iconic flowers, a major export for Dutch farmers.