The Instagrammable tulips in the medians of Michigan Avenue are there by design. The chief designer is Kris Sorich, the Senior Landscape Architect at CDOT, the Chicago Department of Transportation. In the audio clip below, she tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that each July, she decides what colors of tulips she wants to see bloom the following March and April, the bulbs are ordered from the Netherlands, and in November, they’re planted by A Safe Haven, a non-profit with a job training program for the homeless and veterans. Sorich says if the weather cooperates, there will be three magnificent blooms: early, mid, and late. As May now approaches, the late bloom is about to begin. After the show’s over, the folks at A Safe Haven go back and remove the plants. She says the bulbs are given to the Chicago Community Growers Association, which sponsors a tulip bulb giveaway on the West Side. And about Ms. Sorich’s familiar name: Yes, she hears all the time about how much her name sounds like that of Chicago football legend Chris Zorich.