Keukenhof Gardens Amsterdam, The Netherlands

May 8, 2024

Welcome to the famed Keukenhof, where 40 gardeners work over a period of six weeks to plant 7 million bulbs (each one by hand!) representing 1,600 different varieties of flowers donated by 100 growers so that roughly 1.5 million visitors can enjoy them for a a total of 8 weeks!

Keukenhof was established in 1949 by a group of bulb growers and flower exporters as a way to showcase their products and support the industry. It occupies 72 acres of land attached to Castle Keukenhof, whose owners had the grounds re-done in 1857 to look like an English style garden. That English garden provides the foundation of the park’s design.

But did you know that tulips are not really Danish (as in, from the Netherlands, not the kind you eat!)? They actually come from the mountains of Kazakhstan. They were brought to Holland by a trader on the Silk route. There was a time when they were very rare here, and very expensive (remember the red and white striped tulip we told you about from our visit to the Rijksmuseum?). In fact, in 1637 the frenzy over tulip speculation reached such a fevered pitch, some say it caused an economic crisis. People were spending an entire year’s salary and even their entire family fortune buying tulip bulbs betting they could sell them for more than they paid. The most expensive sale documented during this time was 5,000 Gilders for one bulb. At the time that was the equivalent of the cost of a nice house – for one bulb!!! When the market fell, folks were ruined.

Another fun fact…I don’t know what tulips were originally called, but the name “tulip” comes from the type of hat worn by men in the area where they grew naturally – turbans.

And now, for your viewing pleasure…