Keukenhof

Some pictures of Keukenhof, the most gorgeous flower garden I have ever seen! (There is a video at the end of this post.)

Today Alex and I ventured over to Keukenhof - and we couldn't have had a more perfect day for our outing. The sun was shining, the air was warm and the sky was blue. It was warm enough to go sleeveless and wear flip flops - nice.

Keukenhof is in Lisse, and only about a 15 minute drive from our house (although admittedly the line of traffic approaching it resulted in it taking us well over an hour to get there and park). There are thousands of visitors to Keukenhof daily - particularly on a gorgeous spring Sunday.

I had posted a couple of pics of what we expected to see at Keukenhof a few posts ago - but these photos were taken by me (except, of course, those *of* me.)

Keukenhof is the most beautiful spring garden in the world. We were able to admire a breathtaking splendor of colors. It is hard to describe, even with pictures, how amazing and beautiful this place is.

Keukenhof means "Kitchen Garden." In the 15th century the area on which Keukenhof now stands was a stretch of nature owned by Jacoba van Beleren and was used for hunting, but also to gather herbs for the kitchen at the castle.

In 1857, the landscape architech Zocher designed the gards around the castle Keukenhof. This glorious park is based on the English landscape he designed.

A group of bulb growers and exporters first came up with the idea of presenting a flower exhibition at Keukenhof in 1949.

Today, 93 Royal Warrant Holders ensure that the most beautiful bulb flowers are on display every year. This year Keukenhof hosts its 59th exhibition.

A few interesting things about Keukenhof:

*Keukenhof is unique and famous throughout the world

*It is one of the most popular attractions in the Netherlands

*It is the largest bulb flower park in the world

*4.5 million tulips and 100 varieties

*It covers an area of 32 hectares (that's just over 79 acres!)

*It is one of the most photographed places in the world

*It is the largest sculpture park in the Netherlands

*7 million flower bulbs - planted by hand

*More than 2,500 trees in 87 varieties

Keukenhof is open from late March to late May each year. I plan to visit again before it closes this year. The flowers that are in bloom vary during this period, and although we were there for most of the day, I have not seen all of the displays.

I've tried to capture our day in this video I assembled, but one really has to be there to really appreciate the stunning beauty of the park. The first couple of shots are on 'the road to Keukenhof' which is quite spectacular as well, as one passes fields and fields of blooming flowers. I'll try to get some good shots of these another time. Also, typical of the Netherlands, flowering bulbs are plentiful on the roadsides, just seemingly growing wild (perhaps some of the bulbs from the nearby fields get blown to these areas when the winds are high???) Whatever the case, even the roadside is quite pretty.

Enjoy!