Happy Monday GPODers!
If you saw our post on Friday (Check it out here if you missed it: Kielian in the Netherlands), you know which iconic garden we’re visiting today. Thanks to Kielian DeWitt, who made a recent visit to the Netherlands, we’re enjoying the famous spring bulb display at Keukenhof Park in Lisse, Netherlands.
Over 7 million flowering tulips, daffodils and other bulb flowers can be seen every spring at Keukenhof Garden Park, the largest flower garden in the world. Located in the Netherlands, the park is only open for 8 weeks a year from March to May when tourists can visit 79 acres of lush spring plantings. The tulips grow in lovely swaths of color in a creative landscape design which changes every year. At the end of every spring season, all of the bulbs are dug up and every fall, new bulbs are planted.
Keukenhof can be dated back to the 15th century, first being used as hunting grounds for Teylingen Castle, but became the gardens we know today in 1950 after 20 leading flower bulb growers and exporters transformed the estate into an exhibit for spring-flowering bulbs.
As Kielian mentions above, a signature element of the designs at Keukenhof is huge swaths of color. One cultivar of a particular species will be used in mass to create, bold, dramatic shapes.
These masses are planted with such precision and order, that the designers are able to create incredible shapes and compositions. Keukenhof has an awesome drone video of the gardens on their YouTube channel that gives a great perspective on how all these beds flow together: A bird’s eye view of Keukenhof 2021.
But even from Kielian’s photos, you can see the immaculate rows that create boundaries and guide you through the spaces.
In our home gardens, we often try to strive for diversity, for the benefit of our designs and the benefit of our ecosystems. In this specific setting, however, the sameness creates something so striking and celebratory. It’s like a festival for these harbingers of spring. It also honors the national flower of the Netherlands, the tulip. While many species of spring bulbs are on display, tulips are definitely the most abundant and most varied. Above is a stunning lily flowering ‘Claudia’ (Tulipa ‘Queensday’, Zones 3–8).
Of course, massing isn’t the only design style utilized. As we saw in a couple of the photos yesterday, different types of spring bulbs in gorgeous color palettes are mixed with equal precision.
Here, crown imperials (Fritillaria imperialis, Zones 4–8)—an often under-appreciated bulb—are highlighted in beautiful borders around formal sculptures.
While the diverse array of bulbs and combinations has been expansive, this is just the tip of the iceberg. As Kielian mentioned in her introduction, Keukenhof is 79 acres of spring bulb blooms. With direct access to the wealth of bulbs in the “Flower Capital of the World” and top producer and exporter of tulips in the world, the possibilities are endless.
Luckily for us, Kielian was very generous with her photos, and we have even more of this immense garden to enjoy. Check back in to Garden Photo of the Day tomorrow, because we will be returning to Keukenhof to see more of these fabulous floral designs.
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