Jena Commerford knows what it takes to run one of Albany’s largest tulip gardens because she’s been getting her hands dirty for over a decade.

“First step, you have to eat, breathe and sleep tulips. I love the job, and I love the gardens,” said Commerford.

Her new role as the city’s lead gardener keeps her even more rooted to her passion.

“People don’t realize how many bulbs go into each garden,” said Commerford.

More than 100,000 tulips are planted in Washington Park alone. Come May, they’ll be in full bloom for Albany’s annual Tulip Festival.

Commerford says it takes a truckload of planning to get the sprouts in sync.

“I don’t know if it's maybe just us ... We’re crazy. We love our tulips,” said Commerford.

Former city gardener Jessica Morgan helped Commerford plant the seeds to her career before she moved up to parks division supervisor.

“It’s not only carrying on my tradition, it’s carrying on every other gardener’s tradition before me,” said Morgan.

The Dutch tradition began in the 1940s, when a tulip bulb called the "Orange Wonder" was designated Albany’s official flower by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

Even through last year's pandemic, the parks department team hammered away at a plan to share the spring blooms with everyone.

“So what we did is we mustered together 30-second clips to get them on our city website ... and a 45-minute virtual walk-around tour, which was a huge hit,” said Morgan.

People locally and around the world got a chance to see how just a bed of dirt and grass can transform into beautiful tulips.

“To see that twinkle in their eye, that they are catching that tulip bug, is really nice,” said Commerford.

The city announced this year's Tulip Festival will once again be virtual. However, "Jess and Jen" plan to do small education tulip tours throughout the park. You can also enjoy the blooms virtually by visiting their YouTube page.