20150319 - tulips

Tulips

There once was a flower that was unable to settle down anywhere. From the mountains in Kazakhstan, the flower bulb wandered about in Persia, China and Turkey. Until a Dutch scientist took the bulb with him to a small European country. There the flower enjoyed the climate and the soil, and the inhabitants immediately fell in love with the flower and soon designated it a national symbol. It all sounds like a fairy tale, but this is the true story of the tulip.
Since the 17th century, tulips have been transforming the Dutch landscape into a colourful tapestry every spring. A large part of these - some 1.5 million tulips - wind up in gardens and vases the world over via auctions.

Most of the tulip farms in Holland are located in the Noordoostpolder (Northeast polder), in the province of Flevoland, and in the area known as the Kop van Noord-Holland. The Kop even boasts the largest continuous bulb-growing area in Holland. Another well-known bulb-growing area is the Bollenstreek near Leiden, home of the world-famous Keukenhof. All three of these areas are only half an hour away from Amsterdam by car. The largest flower auction in the world, FloraHolland in Aalsmeer, is also just 30 minutes from the capital.

Tulip season

The weather in Holland is suited to tulip growing, with cool springs just as they begin to bloom. The soil in the polders is always being drained, making it perfect for tulip bulbs that like well-drained but moist soils. There are so many types of tulip varieties, that the Dutch Horticultural society has grouped them into several groups, with differing species within those groups. From mid-March to the end of May the tulips transform large parts of Holland into a colorful patchwork. So when you go to Holland in April to see the tulips bloom, no matter where you look, the fields will be different and no doubt gorgeously colorful.

Seven million bulbs and counting

Admiration for the tulip knows no bounds. Seven million tulips bloom annually in Keukenhof, the world's largest flower park. And during the flower parade, dozens of floats adorned with tulips and other flowers parade through the tulip fields of the Bollenstreek (Bulb Region). Both flower events attract hundreds of thousands of flower lovers. Treat yourself to an unparalledled palette of colours and aromas in the pre-eminent tulip country of the world.

Getting there

Come to Holland in mid-April to see the tulips in bloom in their peak season. Tulip season extends from the end of March to the middle of May, but mid-April usually sports the most prolific blossoms. Keukenhof in Lisse is covered by over 7000 bulbs in the spring and is one of the best places to get a good look at many different varieties of tulip. But during the same time of year, all you really need is to take the train or bike through the countryside to see the tulips growing and blooming in field after field. If you take the train from Amsterdam to Den Helder, you will traverse the bulb-growing areas in the north of the province, and on the way back, you can make a stop to see the cheese market of Alkmaar.