Keukenhof Gardens... AKA ..."Tulip Heaven"

Day 3 in Amsterdam began early for us....with a one hour bus ride to the Keukenhof Gardens!

One of the reasons we chose to come to Amsterdam at this time of year was to see the beautiful gardens in Keukenhof. The gardens are only open 8 weeks out of the year...the end of March until the end of May...with April being the busiest time for tourists and the best time to see the flowers in bloom.

We were not disappointed....we were in "tulip heaven" and we had almost a full day of sunshine! 

Traveling away from Amsterdam, we saw one of only five windmills remaining in the city boundaries - De Gooyer Windmill.  It was built around 1725 for the purpose of grinding wheat, and its vanes were very modern for its time.

As we approached Keukenhof we began to see brightly colored strips of land....the flower fields were amazing!  Also amazing is that the colors in real life are even more vibrant than the bright colors in these photos.

We learned that these flower fields are used to produce bulbs....thousands and thousands of bulbs. They are not used in the Keukenhof Gardens but are exported around the world.  Holland produces 80% of all flower bulbs in the world.

The tulip plants below were still covered with plastic, for a greenhouse effect.  It would be interesting to seem them in full bloom.

As we approached the bus parking lot we saw that we would not be alone at the gardens.  There were already a couple hundred buses in the parking lot just an hour after the gardens opened!  We were glad that we didn't arrive any later, and would now be able to explore on our own for the next 3 hours.

Each year, a country is chosen to be honored at the gardens.  This year the chosen country was "Poland...the Heart of Europe"!

We spent 3 hours...walking, oohing, aaahing, taking pictures and being amazed at so much beauty!

Below is a flower bed with a direct connection to Poland.  Do you recognize the profile?  It's Poland's favorite son, Frederic Chopin - depicted in tulips!

The park used to be a hunting ground in the 15th century...since 1949 it is an historic park with tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other spring bulbs.

It's the largest bulb park in the world!

Something we saw and heard over and over again....people speaking different languages, from all over the world....it doesn't matter where they come from - people love beautiful sights, beautiful and bright flowers, and taking pictures in and around them!

We heard so many languages...I would often ask Mark...what language do you think they are speaking? 

We climbed the windmill at the back of the gardens, and then upon coming down we found a pair of wooden shoes Mark could slip into...a bit big but they were wooden!

We never realized tulips and daffodils came in so many different colors, shades and structure!  By structure I mean that tulips were different sizes, some with tall narrow petals and some with shorter and wider petals.  Also, while most of the tulips had smooth edges on the petals, some had edges that grew in a jagged or shaggy pattern.

Over 7 million bulbs are hand planted into this garden each year!  And 4.5 million of them are tulips!

The Keukenhof Gardens are considered the most beautiful in all the world during the spring...it's the 63rd year and how lucky we were to be here at this time!

We heard the Keukenhof Gardens is the most photographed place in the world....we can see why.

Below are Forget-Me-Nots....I had been seeing these flowers and just had to ask one of the grounds crew if they were what I thought they were. Of course I didn't know how to say "Do you speak English" or "Forget-Me-Not" in Dutch, but the gardener asked someone else who spoke English and they said, "Yes".... they were Forget-Me-Nots!

I am trying to grow these beautiful flowers from seed...and this is how I want them to look in my yard one day!

A river of hyacinths! I told Mark that I had seen a similar view on the internet....and this truly does look as bright and stunning as the pictures online!

Hyacinths were used throughout the gardens to border the tulips and daffodils.

We were happy with the sunshine...but grateful we had clouds once in a while too.

As if a sea of purple tulips....

We stopped for a Dutch snack - stroopwafels - which are waffles thinner than crepes, with a toffee syrup spread between them sandwich-sytle...yummy!

We paused from flower gazing so Mark could cross this bridge.  It doesn't look too high or difficult...but since there are no handrails, balance is the key.  I was not about to try it....I could have easily ended up in the water.

I wish I had shot a photo of Mark near the top of the first hill...he said that was the hardest part...I was wondering why he waited there for a while, and now I know.

The second hill to climb was somehow easier...but then...

....what you don't see is the bridge sinking into the water.  

If you wait too long, your feet are soaked!  Mark had fun!

The park covers over 32 hectares or 80 acres (about 2.5 acres for 1 hectare).  We covered a lot of area during our 3 hours...I'm sure we missed some areas but for our first time here...we saw a lot!

The purple and gold tulips above reminded Mark of our LSU friends back in the U.S.

A bed of tulips that haven't bloomed yet.

When we are both in the picture, we are using a telescoping rod with a bolt to hold the camera...we purchased it in a department store in Houston, and it drew curious and impressed looks from both the locals and tourists as we used it.

Once the park closes for the season, all the flowers and bulbs are dug up and thrown out.

The planting of new bulbs begins every Autumn.  It takes about 2 months to plant the 7 million bulbs in this park.  The layout of the gardens is changed every year by the landscape architecture staff that works year-round.

More than once I thought....could heaven be like this? There was so much tranquility, peace and beauty here....

We absolutely loved our visit to the beautiful gardens of Keukenhof, The Netherlands!

It has been a lovely day in Holland.