Outings and excursions · San Carlos de Bariloche

Tulips of the Smekal family on the Danube farm

Text: Miriam Coronel · Photos: Chacra Danubio, Familia Smekal

Spring awakens the colors in the Danube farm, of the Smekal family. Don Pedro works the tulips with his hands, a passion inherited from his grandmother.

Tulip furrows run in neat rows on the Danube farm. Tulips of more than 20 varieties bloom in October rewarding the manual work done during the year. A month of extreme beauty in tulips originating in Holland, one of the most appreciated species in the world of flowers.

From Holland to Bariloche, the tulips that captivate
Precisely that short flowering period and their beauty make the tulips so captivating, even more so when they can be appreciated in quantity, forming fields of tulips of bright colors. This species is a bulbous plant with a simple stem and a single six-petaled flower. In some countries it has an important weight in the economy, as it happens in the Netherlands.

From there Pedro Smekal brought the first bulbs in the late 60s, after a solo trip to learn everything he could from the Dutch, and grew them on his farm on the San Pedro peninsula, in Bariloche, together with his father. His grandmother was his great mentor in the secrets of flowers and, especially, tulips. Today, the family business is already 50 years old and Don Pedro's profession of life is passing into the hands of his son Martín, who is learning to continue the legacy of tulips.

Tulips of the Smekal family on the Danube farm

When the Smekal family arrived in Bariloche, soon the tulip project occupied daily life and marked the productive path of the Danube farm in Patagonia, and over time it became one of the great producers of South America, knowledgeable of all the care and sanitary aspects of the tulip.

Between March and June the family plants the bulbs manually, measuring the times so that in spring they bloom again. In December the bulbs are harvested by hand, sorted, and bagged those that are commercially sized for sale. From January to June visitors can buy bulbs to grow in their gardens. In addition to tulips, peonies, liliums, daffodils, galanthus, lilies, hyacinths, crocus, phlox, among other species, are marketed.

While the farm always worked behind closed doors, it was recently opened to the public so that people could contemplate the beauty of the tulips in bloom. Don Pedro is generous and gives his visitors and buyers twothree rules that will make the tulips stay healthy, live many years and reward with their splendor every spring.
The entrance is located on Av. del Campanario at 5400, san pedro peninsula, in Bariloche. The usual visiting hours are from Monday to Friday from 15 to 19 h.

How to get there

At km 20,400 from Bustillo take the paved street on the right (Avenida Campanario). This is the road that enters Peninsula San Pedro.
Follow this asphalted road (Av. Campanario) until it ends (1 km) and take the gravel street (follow Av.Campanario) which is on the right. Follow about 4 Kms, passing by a church, then a tea house called "Paila-Co". Then follow 1 km and on the right hand side you will find a green mailbox that says "Flia Smekal".