The Postal Service issued new stamps celebrating America’s enduring love of tulips on April 5.
The Tulip Blossoms stamps were unveiled at the annual festival at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, OR.
“To me, the joyful anticipation spring blossoms bring is similar to the feeling I have when I receive mail from a loved one,” said Linda Malone, USPS engineering systems vice president, who spoke at the ceremony.
“We hope these new stamps capture the joy and enchantment of spring and will inspire you to spread the excitement that mail — and tulips — bring to friends and loved ones this year,” she said.
A member of the lily family, the tulip originated as a wildflower in Central Asia. Today, gardeners can choose among an almost endless variety of colors, shapes and sizes.
Tulips have become a dazzling feature of the American landscape and can be grown in most of the country, outside of the Deep South.
Joining Malone were Frank Lonergan, mayor of Woodburn, as well as Barbara and Patti Iverson, owners of Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm.
Luis Molina, a senior pastor at the Woodburn Foursquare Church, served as master of ceremonies.
The petals dominate the stamp artwork, in a rainbow of colorful yellows, oranges, pinks, greens and violets. One flower, shot in close-up, fills almost the entire frame of each stamp, with just the top of the stem showing.
Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with existing photographs by Denise Ippolito.
Ippolito photographed the 10 different tulips in various gardens and parks she encountered in her travels.
The Forever stamps are available in booklets of 20 and coils of 3,000 and 10,000 at Post Offices and usps.com.
