You Can Virtually Tour This Netherlands Garden Where 7 Million Flowers Are Hand-Planted Each Year
The United States is home to a number of beautiful public green spaces (think: Longwood Gardens or the Chicago Botanic Gardens), but none of them compare to the Netherlands’s Keukenhof. Located in Lisse, Keukenhof is home to seven million flowers each year. It’s the second-largest flower garden in the world behind the Dubai Miracle Garden.
According to its website, Keukenhof is specifically a “spring park.” For eight weeks each year, it invites flower enthusiasts from all over the world to admire its seasonal blooms, which are all planted by local companies. This annual event gives each company a chance to display its living catalog to the public, but it also takes millions of dollars and year-round labor to prepare for.
As Insider reports, gardeners must map out their design and select which particular flowers to feature in their display—which can take months to finalize. Next, they must order the bulbs and hand plant all of the seeds ahead of Keukenhof’s opening, a feat that usually takes gardeners about three months. Before planting, they must also spend time ripping out the bulbs from the year prior.
The majority of the flowers are, of course, tulips. For this year’s show, 800 different types were hand-selected by quality and color. Because tulips have a life span of around a week and a half, gardeners use a special technique in which they stagger early- and late-blooming bulbs to make sure tulips continue to flower throughout Keukenhof’s eight-week season.
Last year, Keukenhof was closed for the first time since its opening in 1950 due to COVID-19. This year, Keukenhof decided to take a risk and gear up to re-open for its spring flower exhibition, but due to public health guidelines, the garden’s opening has been postponed until further notice.
That said, we simply can’t let seven million beautiful flowers go unnoticed! Keukenhof has created a virtual tour of its gardens, so you can enjoy its beauty no matter where you are. The “Keukenhof Spring Series” is a six-part series that showcases the garden’s diverse and colorful blooms. The best part: It’s available to watch on Youtube free of charge. So sit back, enjoy the show, and start planning for next year’s in-person visit.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
You can watch the remainder of “Keukenhof Spring Series” here.
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