Belmont Nurseries have been growing tulips for over 25 years, producing some 75 million bulbs per annum for the bulb and flower trade.
Owned by Mark and Susanna Eves, the 25-acre field at Belmont Nurseries, located near King’s Lynn in Norfolk, was planted with nine million tulips to feature in the much anticipated, big-screen adaptation of the smash-hit Broadway Stephen Schwartz’s musical, ‘Wicked’.
Keen to prioritise real effects over CGI, film’s director Jon M Chu was searching for a tulip field for his Wizard of Oz origin story and approached the nursery on seeing a viral video of their fields in 2022. Once the exacting colour scheme was confirmed with set designers, the Eves carefully planted the field with some 9 million bulbs to form the backdrop to “Munchkinland”, with film characters running through the spectacular tulips. As an added bonus, the Eves and their daughter appeared as extras in the film, standing amongst their own flowers.
“Popular! You’re gonna be popular!”
The tulip field is open to the public when in flower – for two weeks in April and May. They first opened the fields in 2021 to raise money for hospice charities, and partly as a way to deal with the vast number of people trespassing on the land to catch a glimpse of the incredible mass of flowers. The Eves will now be preparing for the inevitable rush of ‘Wicked’ fans keen to see the ‘film set’ and visit the field in 2025.
For the past four years, the nursery has partnered with the Norfolk Hospice Tapping House, raising an impressive £93,392 for the charity in 2022 through entrance fees. For 2025, the hospice has confirmed that there are about 30,000 tickets available, details will be made available nearer the time on the nursery website.
Tapping House hospice provides care for people for approximately 4,500 people in the local community living with life-shortening illnesses, including bereavement support for their carers, family and friends. The hospice also opens their own, two- acre garden for the National Garden Scheme, which provides a peaceful and tranquil backdrop for patients, visitors and staff alike.