KEUKENHOF GARDENS PART 2.
By sophiejo
14 comments
First of all thank you all for your lovely comments and I am glad you all enjoyed the photos, more to come on this on blog.
Sewingkilla you were right they are Muscari Latifolium, I fell in love this this smashing plant and it was the only name to the a plant I managed to get. Sadley I couldn’t find any bulbs but I am going to contact the gardens for some to be sent in the post.
A little bit of history about the gardens. In the 15th century the area on which Keukenhof now stands was a stretch of unspoilt nature owned by Jacoba Van Beieren. Besides being used for hunting, the estate was also used to gather herbs for the kitching at the castle-hence the name Keukenhof (literally “Kitchen Garden”). In the 17th century rich people spent huge sums on tulip bulbs. Traders were able to earn anything from 25 to 30 thousand euros a month selling tulip bulbs.
This year was the gardens 60th flower exhibition. There is a wonderful mosaic of the Statue of Liberty using more than 50,000 bulbs. they say that the Keukenhof Gardens are the most photographed place in the whole world.
A lot of the bulbs were still not out on our visit due to the really cold spell we had early in the year. One of the things I did notice about the soil which the bulbs outside were that it was quite shallow, very dry and sandy. Maybe a good tip there when planting Tulip bulbs.
And so to some more photos.
This last dainty little flower is a Tulip, isn’t she sweet?
By the way thats me with the cloggs on. It’s always nice to put a face to the name.
Each year all the bulbs in the gardens are replaced with new. Something I learnt whilst there is that the Tulip bulb will not multiply in the garden. You have to be very clever and know what you are doing to get them to multiply it isn’t an easy job.
I have also put a few other photos of our holiday that I think you may like to see.
This is me with my sister Sandra underneathe the cherry blossom trees.
Me again sat among the Tulips.
After we sadley left the gardens we called into a flower stall to buy bulbs etc. Much cheeper than if we had brought them in the gardens.
This is me in front of the ship Princess Christina
Christopher took this photo of a Dutch Barge coming into port of Amsterdam, It had already dropped one of its sails by the time Christopher was able to get the shot. Still a lovely photo though.
The last photo had to be of Windmills from Amsterdam.
Enjoy and thanks for looking.
25 Apr, 2009
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Comments
Wonderful photos. Such colour. It must have been a fantastic holiday. Thanks for sharing it :o)
All the best, Hywel
25 Apr, 2009
Thankyou for the trip i feel like i was with you , great photos, mind you i think when it comes to tulips holland is the place.
25 Apr, 2009
Oh my gosh it was like we was with you thank you so much for shareing with us. I love the tulips they are so beautiful have fun and thanks again it was so fun to see them all. and the windmills I love them.
25 Apr, 2009
Hello Lujean
Thank you so much for your kind words, I am so glad you enjoyed the blog and the photos. The whole trip to the Netherlands and the gardens was out of this world. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Sophiejo
25 Apr, 2009
Hello Clarice.
Glad you enjoyed it. Do you know that 98% of the flowers you buy here come from holland. they are picked in the morning and are here in the UK within 24 hours. I was not a real fan of Tulips before as they seem very short lived but after my hols I have changed my mind.
Sophiejo.
25 Apr, 2009
Hello Hywel
Lovely to hear from you. Yes the whole holiday was fantastic. Before we went we talked about the gardens and what we thought it would be like but once there well, it was a million times better. If ever you get the chance to go then take it, you will not regrete it. Do you know you are able to take your dogs in there as well.
All the best, Sophiejo.
25 Apr, 2009
hello Marquerite
Many thanks for you comment on the Keukenhof Gardens.
a friend of mine who takes photographs for a living goes to the gardens every year. He said it is a place where people are so taken with the colour, the aroma but mostly with the feeling of peace and tranquility there. He also says it is a place where even the people who suffer with depression can go there and feel completely at ease. And do you know he is right, you walk through those gates and it's like being somewhere completly new. Sounds corny I know but it really is like that. We all just loved it. I said to my husband that if I lived here I would be here every week.
Take the time to go, its not far and it doesn't cost that much.
All the best Sophiejo
25 Apr, 2009
Hello Spritzhenry
Thanks for letting me know about the Muscari Latifolium I will look out for them as I loved them. You have them in your garden, once planted do they flower the next year? Do they grow like the Grape Hyacinth?
I am so glad you enjoyed the blog and the photos, it is always to get a response to your photos isnt it.
All the very best to you.
Sophiejo
25 Apr, 2009
Yes, Sophie, they come up every year. As you've seen, they are taller than the usual ones. . I much prefer them. They don't spread very much, but the clumps increase slowly.
25 Apr, 2009
Sophie thankyou for sharing your trip with us I can see why you enjoyed it so much, it looks fabulous and your photo,s are an absolutely joy to see.......
25 Apr, 2009
This is all really interesting to read, Sophie. :-)
26 Apr, 2009
Beautiful pics - I feel that I will have to visit Holland again some time! But I have to disagree with you on one point - that tulips don't increase in the garden - Mine do!! If you look at my pics of my island bed, the tulips in there have been there quite a few years now and for every 1 original bulb I planted, I now get a clump of about 3 to 6 flowers!
7 May, 2009
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Lovely, lovely photos! Thanks for that.
You can get Muscari latifolium in the UK in the autumn - any good GC will have them, or a specialist bulb supplier like Avon Bulbs or Broadleigh of course.
I have a number in my garden, as they are non-invasive.
25 Apr, 2009