Van DiemenQuality Bulbs

On the clifftop at Table Cape, on Tasmania's north-west coast, rows of tulips turn the red volcanic soil into stripes of colour each spring, the product of a bulb-growing operation that has supplied flowering bulbs since well before the farm became a tourist drawcard. Van Diemen Quality Bulbs runs the growing side; the visitor centre and shop open to the public during two windows a year — the tulip display from late September into October, and a second flowering stretch, known as the Patch, from mid-February to early April — selling bulbs alongside farm tours with views out over Bass Strait. Entry is ticketed rather than a casual wander-in, in keeping with a working farm rather than a manicured garden centre. Outside those windows the farm still sells bulbs by arrangement, though visitors are advised to call ahead. For travellers timing a run along the north-west coast to the flowering season, it is one of the state's most photographed paddocks and a rare chance to buy bulbs straight from the grower.