Tip toe through the tulips
Spring is just around the corner, flowers are already starting to show their heads unusually early... daffodils in January! We all look forward to the carpets of flowers and the splash of colour that brings our dreary winter gardens back to life. That autumn trip to the local garden centre to buy a sack of bulbs, the days spent filling pots with compost and digging the flower beds don’t begin to compare with the gigantic task of the Dutch bulb growers who plant 7 million bulbs by hand in Holland’s showcase Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse.
Lisse is a picturesque village in the heart of the bulb-growing region. It has traditionally been central to bulb-growing, not just due to its location, but also because of its role in the cultivation of and trade in bulbs. Lisse is home to a thriving collection of bulb fields, major bulb auctions and bulb export businesses.
The gardens and four pavilions exhibit a fantastic collection of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, roses, carnations, irises, lilies and many other flowers. The kaleidoscope of colours and perfumes is overwhelming. For nine weeks hundreds of different growers, breeders and product groups, will present the visitors to Keukenhof with a high quality flower exhibition in various product shows.
Every year, a complete new look is created according to a central theme which this year is classical music and romance.
New in 2012 is the opening of the gardens at Keukenhof Castle situated in the heart of the charming Keukenhof Estate. Visitors will be able to stroll through over 200 hectares of woodland, meadows and a sculpture garden.
The Keukenhof Gardens cover 32 hectares and have been one of the most popular destinations in the Netherlands for over sixty years.
The park is open from 22nd March to 20th May 2012,
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Fact file:
Keukenhof Gardens www.keukenhof.nl
Amsterdam Tourism and Convention Board www.iamsterdam.com/visiting
Holland Tourism www.holland.com
Floriade 2012
If you are unable to visit Keukenof Gardens in the spring you will be glad to know that there is another major floral event taking place in the Netherlands this year. Floriade, the world’s largest horticultural exhibition, takes place once every 10 years. Located in Venlo it is open daily between 5 April and 7 October 2012.
Fact File:
Holland Tourism www.holland.com
