“Tiptoe Through the Tulips with me!”
A visit to Keukenhof Tulip Gardens, Amsterdam, in springtime (April/May) will give you the chance to tiptoe through 7,000 flowering spring bulbs and challenge your eyes to see 800 different varieties of tulips!
A visual feast of flowers, these gardens are one of the most photographed attractions in the world and it’s almost impossible to capture their beauty in individual photographs.
Come along and “Tiptoe through the Tulips” with me….
A lover of flower and flora around the world, it’s difficult to comprehend the stark difference between a European spring with carpets of blooms and the simplistic beauty of, say, the iconic Uluru in Outback Australia – often surrounded by its own wildflowers if rain had fallen.
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Themes at Keukenhof Tulip Gardens
The year we visited was 2019 with the theme “Flower Power, the strength of Flowers”.
By the way Keukenhof in Dutch means “kitchen garden” – this might come in handy for a future Trivia Night question!
Bring back the Combi!!
Common theory is that flowers connect people from across the globe at Keukenhof who arrive in their thousands to enjoy the tulips, smells and colours.
The bright colours and memories of my hippy days that constantly demanded peace and music came flooding back to me as I got lost in the sea of brilliant flowers.
The end of the eight week festival sees these bulbs dug up and put to bed before being planted out again in September ready for the following spring.
Keukenhof Tulip Festival 2021
Sadly, the Keukenhof Tulip Festival was cancelled in 2020, but will be back brighter and bolder than ever in 2021. The ticket prices can be found on the Tulip Festival Amsterdam website in July 2020.
A word of advice, make sure you get to the entrance between 8am (opening time) and 9am otherwise you will be queuing for a L O N G time. Later in the day, between 3pm and 6pm you’ll find the crowds have thinned out as well.
Colour My World at Keukenhof Tulip Gardens
Walking through the entrance to the gardens you are greeted with 32 hectares of spring flowers – tulips, daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths and more – a kaleidoscope of patterns and creations.
Hyacinths – old-fashioned charm combined with a sweet, subtle scent.
When paying for your ticket you’re given a detailed map of the Gardens – trust me, you will need to hold on to this otherwise you’ll be forever lost among zillions of petals in this flower lovers paradise!
Planning your walk throughout the gardens before setting off is handy to avoid backtracking – and be sure to plan a halfway stop that is close to the cafe!
Speaking of eating…we saw several people sitting on the grass enjoying a picnic, or snacks – definitely a way to avoid the queues.
32 acres of spring flowers.
Flower Mosaics
Flower Power at its best was the central mosaic masterpiece that took 30 gardeners to plant and care for – there were 50,000 tulips and grape hyacinths. In my eyes the mosaic looked for all the world like John Lennon and brought back memories of my young, hippy and happy days of the 70s. (Never to be forgotten!).
Who does this remind you of?
The Oranje Nassau Pavilion, Keukenhof Tulip Gardens
Most of all I loved the incredibly creative and brilliant displays housed in the Pavilions. Brightly coloured bicycles made me want to rush back home and look for old giveaways to paint, cover in plants, and plonk in the front garden! Imagine being met with one of these happy creations every day!
This particular pavilion has cut flower displays are changed every week, so you will never see a dreary looking bloom, or a dead leaf there.
Colour me Orange!
Beatrix Pavilion
This pavilion didn’t have tulips, but instead an abundance of Orchids, Anthuriums and Bromeliads – again in all sorts of shapes and displays. At home in Queensland I attempt to grow orchids and am now and again lucky enough to have one bloom on a stem – here you couldn’t put a pin between them! The word incredible doesn’t justify these dazzling exhibitions of flower power.
Beatrix was my favourite pavilion at the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens – although it’s really almost impossible to pick a favourite!
So many choices of orchids.
Orchids on Mass
Gift Shops
Desperately trying to defy the odds and not buy souvenir from the gift shops (there’s seven of them) – I failed miserably! Firstly, a bright red tulip glass sun catcher, to hang with many other glass collectibles at home in Australia. Secondly, a bunch of shiny red wooden tulips that will forever remind me of the 2019 visit to Keukenhof Tulip Gardens.
The Mill at Keukenhof Tulip Gardens
The windmill…surrounded by tulips of course…gives a magnificent view of the Bollenstreek (the flower bulb growing area). The variety of colours are breathtakingly beautiful.
Power boat rides leave daily from the windmill to cruise through the flowering bulb fields around the park and would be another enjoyable option to see the colourful countryside, or you can hire a bike at the Gardens’ main entrance. Bike riding is usually our first choice of whatever country we are in, but regretfully didn’t take up this opportunity – still living to regret this.
Why not visit the combo tours website to see what a huge variety of excursions are on offer that cover everything tulips during the Keukenhof Tulip Festival. (We’ll do this next time before visiting Amsterdam again).
Tulip Trivia
- Tulips originated in Turkey (bet you didn’t know that) and first arrived in Antwerp (Holland) in 1560.
- The striped tulips, so popular in the 17th century, got their colouring from a virus that was transferred by aphids in 1931. These stunning multi-coloured tulips are today bred to look that way.
Orange tulips with yellow stripes.
Handy to Know:
The Tulip Festival Amsterdam website has absolutely everything you need to know:
- Ticket prices (available in July 2020)
- Opening dates, March 20 until 9 May, 2021.
- Opening hours for each day of the week
- Information on all other tulip events and locations around Amsterdam
- Make sure you have plenty of space on your Iphone or a spare card for your camera – you’ll need it!
- Remember your sunscreen and hat – the sun in Holland is as hot as anywhere else in the world.
- Wear comfy walking shoes – although you wont cover the 34 acres, your feet will thank you.
- Visit Life Journey 4 Two for excellent information driving independently around Europe in a camper van.
Perfectly shaped Tulips
“Tiptoe Through the Tulips with Me!”
What a great description of this magnificent place, you brought back memories from our visit many years ago.
Thank you for your comment Roz. Must be time for you to tiptoe through the tulips again! 🙂
Tip toeing through all those beautiful tulips would be an amazing sight and experience for the senses. Enjoyed your blog and helpful links. When we return to the Netherlands to see friends we will have to plan to see Keukenhof.
Thank you for your comments Elizabeth 🙂 Sounds like a plan to have a tiptoe through when you visit friends. Remember the window of opportunity to do this is only 6 weeks – we only made it by 2 days!