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| Tulips at Keukenhof |
On Tuesday, April 28 we took a long day trip to the
Keukenhof garden. Keukenhof is the Dutch pronunciation of “kitchen garden” and
is also known as the Garden of Europe. The Keuknehof is one of the world’s
largest flower gardens. Each year approximately 7 million flower bulbs are
planted in the park, which spans 79 acres. Keukenhof is located in South
Holland (the Netherlands) in the small town of Lisse, which is southwest of
Amsterdam. The Keuknehof is only open for 8 weeks each year and, in that time,
welcomes 800,000 visitors.
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| Our Family Enjoying the Keukenhof |
For many centuries the land that now belongs to the
Keukenhof was part of the Teylingen Castle estate, and the grounds were used
mostly for hunting. In the 15th century, Countess Jacoba van Beieren added a
small herb garden near the estate. This is where the area got its name
keukenhof, which literally means “kitchen courtyard”. In 1433 Jacoba died and
her estate was passed through the hands of several wealthy merchants for many
years. Fast-forward to the 19th century, when Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt
moved to the land and wanted a more structured garden built around the castle.
A landscape architect was hired to design the garden. The landscape that was
designed in 1857 still forms the foundation for the park today.
In 1949 twenty Dutch bulb growers came together with a plan
to use Keukenhof as a showcase for spring bulbs. The following year, the park
opened to 236,000 visitors. The exhibition was a huge success, people loved the
display, and ever since the yearly event has only continued to grow in
popularity. Nearly 50 million people have visited Keukenhof since it first
opened and nowadays, 75% come from more than 100 countries abroad.
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Each year more than 7 million bulbs are planed at Keukenhof,
these bulbs are supplied, for free, by 100 bulb growers. There are
approximately 30 full-time gardeners, who work year-round at the Keukenhof. At
the end of each open season, the gardeners dig out the bulbs and destroy them
by order of the growers. Every fall, the gardeners plant the bulbs, by hand, in
a completely new design. It takes about three months to finish planting. The 2015 theme was Vincent Van Gogh. The
bulbs are chosen to bloom throughout the eight-week opening period of the
Keukenhof. In addition to the tulip gardens, Keukenhof also hosts a Japanese
garden, an English landscape garden, a spring meadow, a natural garden, a
historic garden, a garden maze, and seven inspirational gardens that are
different each year.
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| Van Gogh in Flowers |
Growing approximately 4.2 million bulbs a year, The
Netherlands is the world’s largest producer of tulip bulbs. Half of which are
exported. So, I wondered how did
the tulip become such a popular Dutch icon. In my research and our visit to the
Keukenhof, I discovered an interesting history. Tulip bulbs are not indigenous
to Holland and reached the Dutch shores from Turkey and Asia. The Dutch tulips
are the credit of a man name Carolus Clusius. Clusius was a botanist from the
Dutch city of Leiden and one of the foremost plant collectors and enthusiastic
scientists of his field in Europe of the time. In 1593, Clusius was gifted
bulbs from the ambassador of Constantinople.
By the 17th century cultivation of tulips in the fields
around Leiden had taken off dramatically and tulips were becoming immensely
popular. The flowers had become distinctive and due to their insufficiency they
immediately became a status symbol among the Dutch nobility. Soon the cultivation of tulips became a popular
alternative to growing vegetables resulting in skyrocketing bulb prices and
local gardens overflowing with tulips. The high demand and a pleasant
appearance of the bulb led to the development of professional flower trading. Tulips and other flower bulbs became an
important part of life in The Netherlands, spiraling the country into the
biggest producer and exporter of flowers in the world.
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| Tulip Fields |
We were amazed by the size of the tulip fields and awed by
the beauty of the Keukenhof gardens. I have never seen so many tulips in one
location. The colors, the designs of the different flower gardens, and the
overwhelming number of tulips make the Keukenhof a truly unique and wonderful
place to visit. We were not disappointed and immensely enjoyed our short visit.
