© Janet Davis
Six hundred years
ago, the Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, Holland just south of Haarlem, were the
domain of the Countess of Holland, Jacoba van Beiren. The Countess hosted hunting parties on the grounds and grew herbs
and vegetables for her castle kitchen in the rich soil. (Keukenhof is Dutch for kitchen garden).
In 1840, the Keukenhof was laid out as park
similar to one in Amsterdam. It
included a pond that still exists today, presided over by a coterie of pure
white swans. It wasn’t until 1949 that
the mayor of Lisse, along with ten bulb-growers, decided to use the property as
annual open-air showcase for the tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other spring
bulbs they grew. The first year,
236,000 
visitors passed
through the Keukenhof’s gates to see the bulb show.
Today, Countess van Beiren’s kitchen garden
has become the world’s biggest flower garden, a breathtakingly beautiful
70-acre park filled with almost 8 million spectacular bulbs. The growers now number more than
ninety. But those “hunting parties”
are still there: more than 800,000
visitors annually, arriving between the third week in March and the third week
in May to wander along the 15 kilometers of paths hunting for that perfect
tulip, narcissus or crocus for their garden back home.
Each fall, thirty gardeners begin the gargantuan task of planting the bulbs that will bloom the following spring. For the past decade, they have planted in layers to ensure a long season of sequential bloom, placing late-blooming tulips deepest, then the early-blooming tulips, and finally the crocuses near the surface of the soil.
The garden styles at the Keukenhof are as
varied as the bulbs themselves. One
grower will plant in natural drifts in the woods, another in geometric rows
that resemble a living Mondrian painting; another along both sides of a winding
path leading to a charming cottage; still another conjures up a broad,
azure-blue river of grape hyacinths 
seemingly floating
out of the woods towards the visitors. Few home gardeners would have the resources – or the desire -- to
landscape in vast blocks of color this way, but that’s not the point. According to the Flowerbulb Information
Center in Holland, the display is meant to inspire gardeners, showing them how
to use color effectively and 
teaching how to
combine certain bulbs with an eye to height and form.
There are many beautiful flowering Japanese Cherry trees on the grounds that enhance the beauty of the bulbs. Says the Keukenhof’s chief garden architect, Henk Kostser: “It’s also important to consider the blooming time of flowering shrubs and other perennials as well.”
Throughout the Keukenhof, there are places where visitors can order bulbs that have caught their eye, and through the magic of international commerce, by September or October, they’ll be digging those very same tulips into their own flower beds, whether they live in Paris or Peoria or Penticton.
A few years ago, when I visited around April 24th and 25th the gardens were at their very peak of perfection. I chose that date because it coincided with the famous Bulb Parade, and I assumed that the growers would plan the parade for peak bloom time.
And as I wandered the paths with my camera in the cool morning, air long before the gates opened and the tour buses and crowds arrived, I felt like I’d found a little bit of heaven in Holland. A true Dutch treat!
For more information on the Keukenhof Gardens including specific opening dates, times and admission prices, visit their web site.
Adapted from a story that was published originally at gardencrazy.com