April is tulip time in Holland! And Keukenhof is the destination par excellence to immerse yourself in gorgeous fields of tulips, narcissus, hydrangeas, and more.
You can read more about Keukenhof here, if you’d like. But here is their statement about how Keukenhof came to be:
The history of Keukenhof dates back to the 15th century. Countess Jacoba van Beieren [Jacqueline of Bavaria] (1401-1436) gathered fruit and vegetables from the Keukenduin [kitchen dunes] for the kitchen of Teylingen Castle. Keukenhof Castle was built in 1641 and the estate grew to encompass an area of over 200 hectares.
Landscape architects Jan David Zocher and his son Louis Paul Zocher, who also designed Amsterdam’s Vondelpark, redesigned the castle gardens in 1857. That park, in the English landscape style, still constitutes the basis of Keukenhof.
In 1949 a group of 20 leading flower bulb growers and exporters came up with the plan to use the estate to exhibit spring-flowering bulbs, signalling the birth of Keukenhof as a spring park. The park opened its gates to the public in 1950 and was an instant success, with 236,000 visitors in the first year alone. 2019 will be the 70th edition of Keukenhof, with Flower Power as its theme. During the past 69 years Keukenhof has developed into a world-famous attraction.
We just want to show you beautiful images! On the day of our visit, our luck was superb. The air was cool, the sky was clear, and the sun was bright. The leaves on the trees above were just starting to come in, so they didn’t block the pure light.
We had expected to visit the vast flower-production fields, and learn about bulbs in holland. These are photos from our bus as we drove through the region around Keukenhof, but not the gardens themselves. Keukenhof is nothing like that.
We found an immense garden. Paths curve among the flower beds. Flowering trees create white and pink canopies. While there were thousands of other tourists, the glory of the flowers made them all disappear.
Flower beds mix up the colors of spring.
It’s a rainbow across the landscape.
Even with the delicious overwhelm of so many flowers, you can focus on one at a time.
We think these are cherry trees, but who cares; they were enchanting!
Finally, you have to have a windmill, right?
If you have the chance to visit Keukenhof and Holland in spring, grab the opportunity!
Oh my, the Beauty! Lovely.
Thank you for sharing.
Nicki