Before international travel was briefly curtailed by the current pandemic, we had a chance to visit Europe by joining an escorted group tour that took us to several cities in four countries. The tour had a fixed itinerary which included many side trips but also excluded many others en route that we wanted to visit. So ahead of the tour, we went to venture on our own and crossed off one on our bucket list. We went to Keukenhof Gardens near Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the world-renowned tulip gardens. It was in May, springtime and the “most beautiful garden in Europe” was in full bloom. Flowers galore! Tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and other bulb flowers !!!
<center.
How We Got There
From our hotel in Amsterdam, we took a bus line to the Schiphol Airport then boarded a Keukenhof Express bus which took us straight to the entrance of the Keukenhof Gardens.
A Little Bit of History
The Keukenhof Gardens, per their website, covers a vast area of 32 hectares with approximately 7 million flower bulbs and 800 different varieties of tulips and many other types of flowers. Keukenhof which literally means “kitchen courtyard”. had its beginnings in the 15th century, from the small herb garden of countess Jacoba Van Beiren of the Teylingen Castle. It was not as grand a garden then since most of the castle grounds were used for hunting. In the 19th century, Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt, then owners of the estate, had the grounds restructured and the gardens designed around the castle; that would be the foundation of Keukenhof's grand beautiful park today. The landscape architects were father-and-son Jon David Zocher and Louis Paul Zocher.
We slowly strolled through the length and breadth of the garden, taking in the beauty of every row of tulips, daffodils, and other flowers, in a rainbow of colors, - resting only to take photos – hundreds of them – videos and selfies.
At the far end of the garden, there was also a Dutch windmill from which one can see and enjoy a great view of the vast tulip fields behind the gardens.
There are orchids too
In addition to the kaleidoscope of bulb flowers in the gardens, there were other exhibits in several pavilions. We went to the orchids pavilion which showcased many varieties and the display of the beauty of them all.
We must have walked the gardens for a good two hours or more and still could not get enough of the flowers and the gardens. We ordered some bulbs to take home to California and were promised home delivery of the dried bulbs by the following October. They arrived in time and we planted some of the bulbs in pots, others on the ground. The bulbs grew and showed off their vibrant blooms in springtime! But only for one season. The following year, they did not grow. Such beauties! Oh, such joy!