Since 1959 an annual Flower Parade has been held in Spalding, Lincolnshire, on the first Saturday in May. The area was formerly an important centre for the cultivation of tulip bulbs, and tulips grown for this purpose usually have their flowers removed to encourage the rapid development of new bulbs. These flowers were used to decorate some 20 floats. It is estimated that up to 100,000 tulip flowers are used each year, and in 2012 it is said that 1.3 million flowers of various kinds were used.
Lincoln County Council and South Holland District Council have said funding cuts mean that they are unable to contribute their share of the costs after 2013, so unless the organisers are able to raise funding to replace this support the Parade held on 4 May 2013 will be the last [The Garden, Royal Horticultural Society Magazine, May 2013: 16].

Image: unused (1930s?) postcard, ‘Tulip Fields, Spalding’.

Image added 12 November 2022.