Hello! Forewarning- you will want to sit down for this, very picture heavy.
Don’t even quite know where to begin, about this incredible trip to Amsterdam. One trip that has been high on my bucket list, mostly to see the iconic Keukenhof Gardens and let me tell you, they did not disappoint. Keukenhof is the largest flower garden in the world (on 79 acres) and 99% of the flowers are every variation of tulip you can possibly imagine (over 800 species), many I did know even existed. The tulip festival runs from mid March to mid May. Mid to late April is considered to be the optimal time to go to see things in full bloom.
Over 100 growers participate every year and work with a large gardening team to plant…..seven MILLION bulbs! It is also a beautiful way to showcase the various growers and their exquisite flowers.
This was a girls trip and the most fun kind….Iam still having “Amsterdam withdrawals” and miss those beautiful canal lined streets, the acres of tulips, plethora of blue and white. I mean, any country who stands for both tulips and blue and white….well, they have my undying loyalty for life!
I cannot say enough about the people. They deserve special recognition. Such kind, warm, helpful, people. Literally every single person we encountered from those who worked at the hotel to the casual passerby on the street. Incredible people and such a wonderful and civilized country.
Going through my pictures was going down a seriously deep rabbit hole and I had a really really really hard time trying to narrow things down. I didn’t want to overload your senses. But figured I would break this trip down into 3 or 4 posts.
This one is solely dedicated to the gardens, because, well…it was just that incredible. I will break down my visit to Delft and the Royal Delft factory in the next post and on the last post will be an overall Amsterdam/hotel/museum post. I will include some of my personal notes and recommendations as well, on the next post as many have asked. Keep in mind, these are my opinions, not a hard and fast list but just my observations, opinions and suggestions. Are you ready for an insanely beautiful floral overload? Here we go….
Before we entered into Keukenhof they had this beautiful free garden area that we accidentally roamed into, it was quite beautiful!
And then we entered the magical world of Keukenhof and from the very first step, my breath was taken away….
Have never seen such a variety of tulips, and they all looked like they were on steroids! Some of the bulbs were 5 inches tall!
We had some off/on drizzle and it actually made for this to feel even more magical then it really was. Plus the cloudier skies made for great picture taking!
We were fascinated by this variety above, in the rain, it looked like they all bent over to try and protect one another, it was fascinating!
The brilliance of the colors had me taking pictures every 3 steps:)
This one above almost looked like a hybrid of a peony, orchid and tulip, astoundingly beautiful.
Yellow and purple never looked so pretty:)
Look at the ruffled edges on these tulips…incredible!
The vibrancy when mixed in with the purple!
And this above is a work of art looks almost like a variegated peony but it in indeed a magnificent variation of a tulip!
Those edges almost look like fabric!
Are you now understanding why it was impossible to not be taking pictures every 20 seconds! And trust me, there were hordes of others just like me including many professional photographers
These colors!
The Sakura cherry blossoms were just coming into bloom and made for a gorgeous backdrop to the show stealing tulips
Cannot even tell you how HUGE these were…never seen anything like them, they were at least 5-6″ wide!
There are boats that you can take on the canal to marvel at the endless fields of tulips..it is really quite a sight!
Then there was this incredible orchid house with the most phenomenal orchid display I have ever seen, never ever seen so many orchids in one place!
If this doesn’t give you a case of tulip fever, not sure what will. I went out and bought tulips yesterday and plan to put them in my tulipieres today to keep the spirt of my trip alive.
I am sorry but choosing my favorite pictures was like choosing a favorite child..no can do. And this is only about 60% of them, yes I went a bit crazy with almost as many videos. I just couldn’t help myself:) But for any flower lover, you “get it”. And this post will forever be here for me to look back on and remember this wonderful trip by.
I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this day. I don’t think I walked three steps without having to take a picture, it was just all so incredibly beautiful and something about the light drizzle added to the ethereal quality of the day. Plus the hazier skies made for excellent picture taking. The beauty was downright intoxicating. Now, of course if you are not a serious flower lover, this may not excite you the way it did me:)
I will be back next week with my visit to land of blue and white, Delft! So happy you stopped in, wishing everyone a great day! Have you been? Is this on your list to visit one day perhaps? Be sure to check back next week. Until next time…….
TODAY OUR DEAL OF THE DAY IS OUR STUNNING OCTAGONAL CANE WICKER SERVING TRAY!
It is truly…miraculous those vistas…we “lucked on” as newlyweds…just…touring. OMG!! You are “spot on” as people welcomed us to stay in their homes…we became pen pals for years…more please!! franki
What an amazing trip! You’ll probably want to do a photo album to look back on…it would be hard to choose just one or two pictures! All the varieties are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for the pictures, they are indeed beautiful. It is almost as if I was there. They would look beautiful at your home in Bluffton however, I also live there ,not quite as elegant as yours. The only problem is that the deer love tulips, and there are so many deer in Palmetto Bluff. I would advise against planting them, but it would be difficult not to. Thank you.
These pictures made my heart race! Just extraordinary! Here in Vermont we are lucky to have Von Trapp flowers (yes, of those Von Trapps) who grow some of those spectacular ruffle-edge tulips in the most amazing colors. They bring such joy!
Thank you for sharing! Very nice of you to take us along, as I did see on your instagram account.
They are beautiful pictures! Can not even pick a favorite as they all are so magnificent!
Happy Tuesday! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful trip and photos. You captured the colors beautifully. They are all breathtaking. Can you please share—what type of camera you used?
LOVE!!! Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures! That trip is also on my bucket list, and I am so glad that you were able to go and enjoy the beauty! My neighbor is leaving for Netherlands today, and I will be anxious to hear about her trip as well!
THANK You for the lovely tour of the gardens. This was on my bucket list also but now my husband has dementia so my travel days are limited to short trips. But now I can really see the gardens!, I felt like I was there.. thanks sooo much..
Tina, this post made my morning! I have always wanted to go to Amsterdam for tulip season. Next April is almost a big birthday so maybe a wonderful excuse to plan a trip. Thank you for sharing such gorgeous photos. I ooh’d and aahh’d over all of them. Now it’s time to fill those gorgeous tulipieres I bought from you!
The flower you describe as a combo, peony, orchid, tulip is some variety of daffodil. You can tell by the leaves.
All your photos are beautiful. It must have been a wonderful trip.
Wow. Has been top of my bucket list for years. Have four friends we travel well hopefully will get there soon. Love the variegated tulips like an old master painting. Thank you made my day
Beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing!
My husband and I just returned from a wonderful river cruise through Belgium and the Netherlands. We were visiting Keukenhof last week in the rain as well. I thought I would be disappointed because of the cold and rain, but once I embraced the experience, it was amazing.
I too just visited Keukenhof a week or 2 before you. It was on my bucket list and did not disappoint! Same drizzly weather that broke in to sun before the day was over. Luckily, I was with a tour that was the first to enter in the morning and had almost no crowds. Will never forget the experience! Gorgeous beyond belief!
oh Tina thank you. This was absolutely breath taking I can only imagine what it was like in real life. So different than I imagined. What a fond memory you will have.
Thank you for the wonderful post. The tulips are stunning. I had a laugh as when we attend the Tulip Festival in the Dandenongs (Australia) it always rains on and off also, every year we go it rains. And like you I stop every few steps to take photos, gets annoying for the people I’m with.
We went to Keukenhof last year and it was extraordinary. We took literally hundreds of photos and like you, could not get over the many different varieties and colours. A bucket list destination for those who haven’t been.
Just gorgeous! Looks like you had a beautiful time. — We had our engagement party in Holland. Always special memories. ( Married in Switzerland- formal wedding in Germany. )
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Hello! Forewarning- you will want to sit down for this, very picture heavy.
Don’t even quite know where to begin, about this incredible trip to Amsterdam. One trip that has been high on my bucket list, mostly to see the iconic Keukenhof Gardens and let me tell you, they did not disappoint. Keukenhof is the largest flower garden in the world (on 79 acres) and 99% of the flowers are every variation of tulip you can possibly imagine (over 800 species), many I did know even existed. The tulip festival runs from mid March to mid May. Mid to late April is considered to be the optimal time to go to see things in full bloom.
Over 100 growers participate every year and work with a large gardening team to plant…..seven MILLION bulbs! It is also a beautiful way to showcase the various growers and their exquisite flowers.
This was a girls trip and the most fun kind….Iam still having “Amsterdam withdrawals” and miss those beautiful canal lined streets, the acres of tulips, plethora of blue and white. I mean, any country who stands for both tulips and blue and white….well, they have my undying loyalty for life!
I cannot say enough about the people. They deserve special recognition. Such kind, warm, helpful, people. Literally every single person we encountered from those who worked at the hotel to the casual passerby on the street. Incredible people and such a wonderful and civilized country.
Going through my pictures was going down a seriously deep rabbit hole and I had a really really really hard time trying to narrow things down. I didn’t want to overload your senses. But figured I would break this trip down into 3 or 4 posts.
This one is solely dedicated to the gardens, because, well…it was just that incredible. I will break down my visit to Delft and the Royal Delft factory in the next post and on the last post will be an overall Amsterdam/hotel/museum post. I will include some of my personal notes and recommendations as well, on the next post as many have asked. Keep in mind, these are my opinions, not a hard and fast list but just my observations, opinions and suggestions. Are you ready for an insanely beautiful floral overload? Here we go….
_____________________________________________________
Welcome to the land of flower dreams!
Before we entered into Keukenhof they had this beautiful free garden area that we accidentally roamed into, it was quite beautiful!
And then we entered the magical world of Keukenhof and from the very first step, my breath was taken away….
Have never seen such a variety of tulips, and they all looked like they were on steroids! Some of the bulbs were 5 inches tall!
We had some off/on drizzle and it actually made for this to feel even more magical then it really was. Plus the cloudier skies made for great picture taking!
We were fascinated by this variety above, in the rain, it looked like they all bent over to try and protect one another, it was fascinating!
The brilliance of the colors had me taking pictures every 3 steps:)
This one above almost looked like a hybrid of a peony, orchid and tulip, astoundingly beautiful.
Yellow and purple never looked so pretty:)
Look at the ruffled edges on these tulips…incredible!
The vibrancy when mixed in with the purple!
And this above is a work of art looks almost like a variegated peony but it in indeed a magnificent variation of a tulip!
Those edges almost look like fabric!
Are you now understanding why it was impossible to not be taking pictures every 20 seconds! And trust me, there were hordes of others just like me including many professional photographers
These colors!
The Sakura cherry blossoms were just coming into bloom and made for a gorgeous backdrop to the show stealing tulips
Cannot even tell you how HUGE these were…never seen anything like them, they were at least 5-6″ wide!
There are boats that you can take on the canal to marvel at the endless fields of tulips..it is really quite a sight!
Then there was this incredible orchid house with the most phenomenal orchid display I have ever seen, never ever seen so many orchids in one place!
_______________________________________________________
If this doesn’t give you a case of tulip fever, not sure what will. I went out and bought tulips yesterday and plan to put them in my tulipieres today to keep the spirt of my trip alive.
I am sorry but choosing my favorite pictures was like choosing a favorite child..no can do. And this is only about 60% of them, yes I went a bit crazy with almost as many videos. I just couldn’t help myself:) But for any flower lover, you “get it”. And this post will forever be here for me to look back on and remember this wonderful trip by.
I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this day. I don’t think I walked three steps without having to take a picture, it was just all so incredibly beautiful and something about the light drizzle added to the ethereal quality of the day. Plus the hazier skies made for excellent picture taking. The beauty was downright intoxicating. Now, of course if you are not a serious flower lover, this may not excite you the way it did me:)
I will be back next week with my visit to land of blue and white, Delft! So happy you stopped in, wishing everyone a great day! Have you been? Is this on your list to visit one day perhaps? Be sure to check back next week. Until next time…….
TODAY OUR DEAL OF THE DAY IS OUR STUNNING OCTAGONAL CANE WICKER SERVING TRAY!
$65.00 TODAY ONLY
CLICK HERE
It is truly…miraculous those vistas…we “lucked on” as newlyweds…just…touring. OMG!! You are “spot on” as people welcomed us to stay in their homes…we became pen pals for years…more please!! franki
What an amazing trip! You’ll probably want to do a photo album to look back on…it would be hard to choose just one or two pictures! All the varieties are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for the pictures, they are indeed beautiful. It is almost as if I was there. They would look beautiful at your home in Bluffton however, I also live there ,not quite as elegant as yours. The only problem is that the deer love tulips, and there are so many deer in Palmetto Bluff. I would advise against planting them, but it would be difficult not to. Thank you.
These pictures made my heart race! Just extraordinary! Here in Vermont we are lucky to have Von Trapp flowers (yes, of those Von Trapps) who grow some of those spectacular ruffle-edge tulips in the most amazing colors. They bring such joy!
Hello Tina,
Thank you for sharing! Very nice of you to take us along, as I did see on your instagram account.
They are beautiful pictures! Can not even pick a favorite as they all are so magnificent!
So happy you had a great time!
Happy Tuesday! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful trip and photos. You captured the colors beautifully. They are all breathtaking. Can you please share—what type of camera you used?
Amazing pictures! What a wonderful experience, thank you for sharing…looking forward to more! Have a beautiful day!
LOVE!!! Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures! That trip is also on my bucket list, and I am so glad that you were able to go and enjoy the beauty! My neighbor is leaving for Netherlands today, and I will be anxious to hear about her trip as well!
THANK You for the lovely tour of the gardens. This was on my bucket list also but now my husband has dementia so my travel days are limited to short trips. But now I can really see the gardens!, I felt like I was there.. thanks sooo much..
Tina, this post made my morning! I have always wanted to go to Amsterdam for tulip season. Next April is almost a big birthday so maybe a wonderful excuse to plan a trip. Thank you for sharing such gorgeous photos. I ooh’d and aahh’d over all of them. Now it’s time to fill those gorgeous tulipieres I bought from you!
The flower you describe as a combo, peony, orchid, tulip is some variety of daffodil. You can tell by the leaves.
All your photos are beautiful. It must have been a wonderful trip.
Absolutely stunning pictures! Definitely on my bucket list
Thank you for sharing!!!
Simply Amazing!!!!! So glad you were able to make the trip!!!!!
Lifetime memory!!
Denise
Wow. Has been top of my bucket list for years. Have four friends we travel well hopefully will get there soon. Love the variegated tulips like an old master painting. Thank you made my day
Such gorgeous pictures, Tina! Thanks, so much, for sharing them with us! Hope to visit these beautiful gardens next year.
Beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing!
My husband and I just returned from a wonderful river cruise through Belgium and the Netherlands. We were visiting Keukenhof last week in the rain as well. I thought I would be disappointed because of the cold and rain, but once I embraced the experience, it was amazing.
I too just visited Keukenhof a week or 2 before you. It was on my bucket list and did not disappoint! Same drizzly weather that broke in to sun before the day was over. Luckily, I was with a tour that was the first to enter in the morning and had almost no crowds. Will never forget the experience! Gorgeous beyond belief!
Enjoyed your beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing and glad you had a wonderful trip.
Wow, such stunning photos! I’m in awe of the many varieties of these beautiful tulips! What a fabulous “girls” trip ~ thanks SO much for sharing! 🙂
Truly magnificent! Thanks so much for sharing!
oh Tina thank you. This was absolutely breath taking I can only imagine what it was like in real life. So different than I imagined. What a fond memory you will have.
Thank you for the wonderful post. The tulips are stunning. I had a laugh as when we attend the Tulip Festival in the Dandenongs (Australia) it always rains on and off also, every year we go it rains. And like you I stop every few steps to take photos, gets annoying for the people I’m with.
We went to Keukenhof last year and it was extraordinary. We took literally hundreds of photos and like you, could not get over the many different varieties and colours. A bucket list destination for those who haven’t been.
Hello Tina:
Thank you for sharing your trip and beautiful pictures. The Keukenhof is a heaven on earth.
Hello Tina:
Thank you for sharing your trip and beautiful pictures. The Keukenhof is heaven on earth.
Thank you so much for sharing these amazing photos! Amsterdam is now on my Bucket List!!!!
Fabulous photos…so happy you had a wonderful time. What a beautiful garden. Thank you for sharing.
Just gorgeous! Looks like you had a beautiful time. — We had our engagement party in Holland. Always special memories. ( Married in Switzerland- formal wedding in Germany. )