Tulip bulb free-for-all on Park Ave.

THEY CAME. They saw. They dug up tulip bulbs.

But the scores of amateur gardeners didn’t have to tiptoe, and they didn’t get arrested. And now they’re the proud owners of hearty Darwin hybrid bulbs unearthed from flower beds along Park Ave. (photo) on the Upper East Side. Some carried flyers promoting the annual dig — a veritable get-out-of-jailfree card in case police got suspicious.

“We want people to come by and take the bulbs,” said Jo-Ann Polise, executive director of the Fund for Park Avenue, which sponsors the dig. The group takes steps to stem trouble before it begins.

“We notify police so there is no misunderstanding,” she said. “We don’t want them to think people are stealing them.”

Fund President Barbara McLaughlin said 66,000 bulbs are planted annually in the 64 beds from E. 54th St. to E. 86th St. When the tulip bloom ended, the fund dug up 48 beds and bagged bulbs for passersby so begonias can be planted. The remaining beds were left for visitors to root through. The dig ends Wednesday.