Postcards from Emily and Gloria
Heart of Belgium and Holland in 11 Days
The Keukenhof
"The Kitchen Garden"
The entrance to the garden houses all of the park services such as lockers for belongings you don't feel like carrying, wheelchair rental for those in need of one, and the ticketing office.
After leaving Delft, and on our way to Amsterdam, we had only one stop today. And for most, it was a much-anticipated and exciting part of the trip. Keukenhof in Dutch means "kitchen garden", and it was named this because it was originally used to supply the kitchen of Teylingen Castle for Countess Jacoba van Beieraen (Jacqueline of Bavaria) from 1417-1436. Keukenhof Castle was built in 1641, and the grounds grew to over 200 hectares. In 1857, a father and son team of landscape architects redesigned the castle gardens in the English landscape style which still forms the basis for the layout of the Keukenhof today. And in 1949 came the birth of the garden as we know it today: a group of flower bulb growers and exporters decided to use the estate to exhibit spring-flowering bulbs like the famous tulips. After opening to the public in 1950, the garden has welcomed visitors from all over the world for 75 years (as of 2024).
I know I'm being particularly chatty here but let me just tell you this: none of the photos I took and chose for this website are edited in ANY WAY. I am going to post them exactly as Mom or I took them, and you'll have to take my word for it (until you go and see for yourself!) that they are just that vibrant. Our phones, (I took my photos with a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and mom took hers with an iPhone 14 Pro Max) as good as their cameras are and as good as their color clarity is, couldn't fully capture the intense hues you're going to see here. In fact, neither could my own eyes - I tried to squint to make out some variation in the red tulips, and I just couldn't do it! So without further adieu, Mom's favorite part of the tour, and maybe yours: the flowers of the Keukenhof.
TRAVEL TIP
If you come to the Keukenhof, don't forget your credit or debit card! We found out after we arrived that none of the food or gift vendors accept cash. Also consider packing a lunch to enjoy amidst the beautiful views - the restaurants get pretty busy!
Nico handed each of us a stroopwafel as we stepped off of the bus. He said Dutch children will often tuck one into their backpacks on school trips, so I was definitely getting that field trip feeling! And it made a great snack when it started to rain towards the end of the visit and we grabbed a coffee under the umbrellas.
This sculpture reminded me of the original version of Willy Wonka!
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We gathered together for a group photo before we left at the end of the day - and Nico had told us at the beginning of the day before we all scattered to the winds that he was going find each of us for a photo during the visit. And he didn't miss a single person, as you can see to the bottom right.
All these colors
made my artist heart SO happy!
Before this, I had no idea what "English landscape style" even meant. I'm not 100% sure I do now, but I know that I sure do like it!
Check out the intensity of that pink! I think even Barbie might need her sunglasses to look at a pink that bright.
Mom found an entire wall of flowers that she matched!
Here you can see the raindrops falling on the lake in the center of the garden. It didn't slow us down one bit!
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The Keukenhof isn't a one-trick-pony with the tulips. Here we saw some pretty hyacinth!
Being honest with you for a second, I don't usually like pictures of myself at all. But the colors here make everyone look good!
This is an example of that intense red hue I told you about. In person, it was even brighter!
They had
whole fields of my favorite: daffodils! The daffodils are coming up here in Maryland as we speak, and I love it.
The windmill was a very popular photo spot - people lined up to get to the top to see the flower fields just beyond the garden. I think Mom looks great right here!
Another popular photo spot near the windmill - the famous shoes! I don't really think they're Lori's size though. Maybe she needs a size 6 or 7 instead of a 94?
The number of tulip varieties in the garden was staggering. I couldn't even hope to tell you how many there were - but they came in all shapes and sizes.
Nature reclaiming the land, or commentary from the garden designers? I don't know, but I like their ideas!
I think Mom likes her new wings, don't you? These were set up as a photo spot within one of the orchid buildings.
Another spot in the orchid building - I think Lori stole the show!
There are so many more photos I could put on here, but there might never be an end to them! If you'd like to see more photos from the Keukenhof, or any other location we visited on our tour, please see the gallery page, which can be found here, or on the menu at the top of every page.
Sometimes places give you free maps or pamphlets, and if you get things just right, you can include the whole thing in your journal in a readable state!
The lower left corner map is still fully visible when you fold it out. And I couldn't choose a color of tulip to paint for so long - eventually I mixed my two favorites!