9 million tulips were actually planted for Wicked

To remake Munchkinland in the truest way possible.

If Wicked is also successful, it is partly thanks to the sumptuous production of John M. Chumainly filming practical sets. The production took place on 17 different sets and four studios, two of which exceeded 5,000 m2. Among these settings is the Munchkin village of Munchkinland, nestled in the middle of a field of tulips. And for the purposes of the film, a real tulip field was created. Nine million tulips have been planted!

He's the production designer Nathan Crowley who insisted on doing it, refusing to use visual effects for these tulips. “I had already grown 200 hectares of corn for Interstellar's needs, so I knew I could do it. I am a good farmer“, laughs the technician in Variety.

Crowley says he told Adam Richards, his manager in charge of finding the filming locations: “We're going to grow tulips and we need to learn how to grow them! So he found a tulip grower, Mark Eves, in Norfolk, England, who offered to help us plant and grow the bulbs – all nine millions of bulbs. They were the colors of the rainbow. They grew and it was simply magnificent.

And the fans of Wicked will now have the opportunity to go to Munchkinland for real (or almost) since the field is still there across the Channel. “Mark [Eves] planted them. Growing tulips involves planting bulbs in the ground, growing the flowers and cutting off the heads. The bulbs get bigger and the next season you put them in the greenhouse, and that's where you get your flowers. So he took the bulbs and grew them.”

The Belmont Farm, owned by Eves, will open its doors to the public this April and will allow visitors to discover the tulips and the Munchkinland of Oz.