Last week I was in Den Haag to attend the 2nd Indian Film Festival and participate in The seminar on “Effects of Indian Films on the lives of people of Indian origin (in this case the lives of Hindsostanis- people from Surinam and Mauritius). I learnt that the Tulip Gardens at Keukunhof were open till 24th May. Though I have visited Holland innumerable times, I have always missed to see this wonderful place which since 1949, has been known as the world’s largest flower garden.
It was a perfect summer’s day- weather was sunny and bright. We drove through the winding country roads, lined with beautiful tall trees on both sides and the fragrance of wild flowers and blossoming trees filled the air. We arrived in about 40 minutes at Lisse where Keukunhof is, but it took us about half an hour to find a parking place in the huge car park. History tells us that the grounds of Keukenhof were part of the property belonging to Countess Jacobavan Beieren. On the present grounds of the Keukenhof the Countess and her entourage used to go hunting, whilst vegetables and herbs were grown here to be used in the kitchen of the Countess’ castle. ’Keuken’ in Dutch means kitchen and ’hof’ means garden; which shows how the name was chosen in those days. The Park was filled with colourful tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and all varieties of Lilies, as well as ancient trees, ponds and fountains. The park has 32 hectares of flower gardens with kilometres of paths leading to a variety of gardens, namely Music Garden, Nature Garden, Japanese Garden (Hanakairo Park uit Tottori) and the Historical Garden, as well as various Theme Gardens. The Koningin Beatrix (Queen Beatrix) Pavilion is one of the best with beautiful flower display and the sculptures of the royal family. The Park is also full of works of art by Dutch artists and there are exhibitions of paintings and photographs. There was a pavilion where the Dutch wooden shoes called Clogs were being made by hand and one could order by size to be made there and then.
There is a huge windmill at one end of the park. From its circular balcony at the second storey you could have a birds eye view of the whole park and also the surrounding areas of Lisse. It does take a whole day to tour the park and enjoy the flowers and fountains .If you get tired from all the exertions, there are number of restaurants and cafes within the park where you can eat and rest your feet. My primary attraction for Keukunhof was to see the tulips. The tulips were introduced in Western Europe in the 16th century and soon achieved great popularity. Interest in tulip growing mounted, especially in Holland, where it developed by 1634 into a craze called tulip mania. Tulip growing eventually became established as an important Dutch industry, and tulip bulbs are still a major export of the Netherlands. I was told that there are around 80 varieties of tulips, ranging in different plain colours and some are varicoloured. Tulips bloom in full, in spring and by early May, which is start of summer, start dying. There were a number of tulip patches still erect though the petals had started withering. Never the less I enjoyed the sight. It was a day complete of enjoyment.
If you ever visit Holland in March/April, I strongly recommend a visit to Keukunhof. I will definitely next year.