For Immediate Release

June 13, 2025

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Andrea Bork

Programs Coordinator, Windmill Island Gardens

1 Lincoln Ave, Holland, MI 49423

616.355.1058 | a.bork@cityofholland.com

www.WindmillIsland.org

Books and Blooms Fun at Windmill Island Gardens

Holland, MI – The Books and Blooms children’s series continues this Monday, June 16 at Windmill Island Gardens hosted by our very own horticulture staff! Each Books and Blooms will begin with a Story Time hosted by the Herrick District Library at 10:00 am, followed by a fun, educational, and hands-on activity at 10:30 am. During the Books and Blooms series, children can not only enjoy interactive stories, songs, and activities, but also enjoy our children’s carousel, playground, and see our chickens all on Windmill Island Gardens’ park grounds.

This Monday during Books and Blooms, children can join Windmill Island Gardens horticulture staff in decorating their own biodegradable planters, and even plant basil or zinnia starts that started growing right here in our greenhouse! Children can take home their plant starts and put their planter cups right into the ground to watch them grow in their gardens at home!

Windmill Island Gardens offers a small slice of the Netherlands in West Michigan. The park features tours of ‘de Zwaan’ – America’s only authentic, working Dutch windmill. Other highlights include an Amsterdam street organ and children’s carousel among many Dutch replica buildings and exhibits. During Tulip Time in May, visitors can delight in 100,000+ tulips in beds and fields. A proud member of the American Public Garden Association and American Horticultural Society, the Island is transformed each summer with a beautiful display of annuals and perennials found in themed beds and throughout the landscape. Visitors can enjoy it all from mid-April to early October each year.

Families are invited to Windmill Island Gardens every Monday morning for our weekly Books and Blooms series from 10:00 am – 11:30 am through August 11. This weekly Books and Blooms series will begin with an interactive Story Time hosted by the Herrick District Library starting at 10:00 am, followed by a come-and-go style activity led by a local non-profit organization from 10:30 am until 11:30 am. The full schedule of activities can be found below, and on the Books and Blooms Facebook event page. Activities are free to attend for all; just mention you are there for the series at the admission booth. A parent or guardian must remain onsite the entire time to supervise their children. Activities take place in the park on the East side of the Posthouse building at Windmill Island Gardens (1 Lincoln Ave, Holland, MI, 49423).

For more details on Books and Blooms and other upcoming events at Windmill Island Gardens, visit www.windmillisland.com. Windmill Island Gardens is open daily from 9:30am – 6:00pm (last admission sold at 5:00pm) through October 5.

Upcoming Books & Blooms Dates

June 23

Tulips Wands

Holland Area Arts Council

Get artsy with the Holland Area Arts Council! The staff will show you how to be creative and craft your very own tulip masterpiece.

June 30

The Wild World of Water

Outdoor Discovery Center

Join the staff from the Outdoor Discovery Center to enjoy a variety of hands-on activities all about water quality and native plants! See live aquatic insects, make a craft, play games, and more learning about how water quality impacts native plants.

July 7

Story Garden Collage

The Bluestocking Bookshop

Kids will use pages from gently damaged books and colorful scrap paper to collage their own garden themed masterpiece creating flowers, butterflies, clouds, and more! Using recycled damaged book pages and paper scraps, kids can use their creativity to repurpose a variety of paper materials.

July 14

Grow a Garden Bookmark

Ready for School

Kids create a flower-themed bookmark using stickers, stamps, and coloring tools. Include flower facts or fun gardening jokes on a pre-printed template on the reverse side.

July 21

Yard Games & Planting Activity

Holland Recreation

Get moving with Holland Recreation! Enjoy a variety of fun yard games fun for all ages and even decorate your own planter to fill with soil and seeds to take home and watch grow!

July 28

Wacky Wind

Holland Museum

Discover the power of wind with the Holland Museum! Join museum staff for an exciting hands-on STEAM activity exploring wind energy and air resistance. Build your own wind-powered windmill to see how wind can generate motion. Then, experiment with air resistance by designing and launching your very own balloon-powered rocket. Engage in interactive learning and unleash your creativity in this fun and educational experience for all ages!

August 4

Flower Suncatchers

Explore Hope

The team from Explore Hope will teach kids how to craft flower suncatchers out of leaves and flower petals you can find around outside!

August 11

Pollinator Water Station

MSU Extension

Even pollinators need water to survive, especially in the heat of summer! Join our friends from the Michigan State University Extension to create a water source with enough water to outlast a sunny day and enough dry surface from which insects can safely drink and learn about why pollinators are essential to the survival and success of our gardens.

About Windmill Island Gardens: Windmill Island Gardens offers a small slice of the Netherlands in West Michigan. The park features tours of ‘de Zwaan’ – America’s only authentic, working Dutch windmill. Other highlights include an Amsterdam street organ and children’s carousel among many Dutch replica buildings and exhibits. During Tulip Time in May, visitors can delight in 100,000+ tulips in beds and fields. A proud member of the American Public Garden Association and American Horticultural Society, the Island is transformed each summer with a beautiful display of annuals and perennials found in themed beds and throughout the landscape. Visitors can enjoy it all from mid-April to early October each year.

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