Keukenhof Tulips

12 comments

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Keukenhof is apparently the world’s largest flower garden, with 7 million bulbs planted annually.

I visited a couple of years ago, in mid-April, on a lovely, sunny, warm weekend.

If only this year was like that, sigh! So far, I’ve only got tips of tulip leaves poking through in my pots.

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Keukenhof is open from March till May each year, and (in years when Spring actually arrives) is known for its Spring displays.

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Now that looks like Spring!

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The grounds were turned into a flower exhibition garden in 1949.

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It covers 32 hectares, with indoor pavilions as well as the outside gardens.

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The tulips are of course the big attraction, some 1,000 varieties of them.

All sorts of shapes and colours.

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Some planted in large blocks of the same variety …

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… others mixed up.

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Look at them basking in that April sun :o)

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The downside is that it’s almost as packed full of tourists as it is bulbs …

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Some of them can’t read signs.

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So a lot of the photos I took were close-ups to avoid the tourists getting in the way.

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Worms-eye views solved that problem too …

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A lot of the surrounding area was being used for commercial tulip-growing too, which was quite spectacular to see.

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An odd one out!

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This year I’m growing 4 varieties of tulips – Red Riding Hood on their own, and mixes of Couleur Cardinal, Havran and Prinses Irene.

What are you growing? Or what are your favourites?

• 13 Apr, 2013
• 10 likes

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