Keukenhof Gardens and Tulip Fields Forever!
Early spring is tulip time and a fantastic time of year to visit Holland. Keukenhof Gardens is an extravaganza of shapes and colours of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, orchids, lilies, cherry blossom, apple blossom, wisteria, and a whole lot more too! If you visit Amsterdam in April you really must visit Keukenhof Gardens.
People often ask when is the best time to see tulips in Holland. The answer depends on the weather. The cooler the spring the later the tulips bloom. I think that the middle section of the opening time is a safe bet, so cut off the first and last 10 days. Even so, they do keep the gardens looking amazing throughout the season. This year I’m only offering tours between 1 April and 11 May to make as certain as possible that there are tulips out in force. The gardens are actually open from 21 March to 19 May this year.
There are about 7 million bulbs grown at Keukehof Gardens in the 2 months it is open. With some beds, when the flowers are done, say the daffodils which flower early, they dig out the daffs and replace them with tulips that have been brought on in greenhouses and about to flower. That way, keep the gardens looking lush throughout the season.
Another style of planting is called ‘lasagne planting’ where bulbs are planted in 4 layers and the 4 bulb varieties flower at different times. When one flower is done, another is starting to bloom in the same flower bed. Amazing. You can actually get specific advice and bulb packs posted to you so you can try it at home the next year!
My favourite part of the garden is the area laid out like English ornamental parkland with sweeping curved paths and beds designed in all sorts of colour and texture combinations. Because of the seeping vistas, it’s easy to get photos without other people in them. There are many other areas too, a walled garden, a wooded area, a Japanese style area, an orchid house, a greenhouse with astonishing breeds of tulips. Bring a backup battery for your phone and have lots of memory free, you may well need it!
Visiting tulip fields to marvel at their beauty has been a Dutch tradition for centuries. A traditional way has been to cycle to the flower fields, you need to know you way around for this and, to be honest, I’ve never actually done it. Call me lazy but driving works well for me!
The flower fields are incredible to see, regiments of colour on a massive parade ground all standing proud. There is something magical, no matter how many times I do it, about standing next to or even in a field of thousands of flowers.
Earlier in the season, daffodils and hyacinths are in bloom and the tulips come a bit later, however it is looking like a very warm spring so the tulip fields may be in bloom when the gardens open. The farmers in the tulip growing areas are usually pretty accommodating to people and tend not to mind photos taken from the edge of their tulip fields. As long as people are respectful and don’t walk down the rows between the flowers without permission. To walk between the rows of hyacinths is a huge no-no as those flowers are highly susceptible to disease which can be spread by our shoes. Farmers with tulip fields accessible from the roads tend to put up a sign if they specifically don’t want people on the edge of their fields. Here are some pics from our tours in years past
