Saturday, April 26, 2014

Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse, The Netherlands

Keukenhof was amazing!  What a "bucket-list" kind of place.  Ever since I had first heard of this place when we first arrived in Europe I'd wanted to go, and we made it a priority.  In addition to going to Amsterdam for our five-year anniversary, we took a day here just to relax.  It is as luscious and delightful as it looks... And the smell in the air was incredible!

Enjoy!  I wish I could have bottled the scent in the air!

As for the pictures below... I believe that they need little explanation.  I hope you like them!




Fiddleheads!





Hyacinth

Daffodil and narcissus.




A lovely narcissus.

Feathered tulips.


My favorite color combination, I think.  Tulips and grape hyacinth.

Beautiful foliage on this white tulip.










The kwanzan cherry trees are blooming!

Tricolored grape hyacinth!

"Striped" tulips are developed genetically through infection of a plant virus that specifically targets tulips.  Some tulips not meant to be striped with other colors can be either genetic mutations or infected with the virus!




I loved watching these little Vietnamese girls play amongst the flowers!




D and I went into the Orchid House for the orchid show and competition!

Such tiny little flowers!




Hot chocolate-colored orchids!


Primitive-looking orchid, closely related to wild ladyslippers.













The tulip fields of Lisse!

Climbing the windmill!


Notice the wooden clogs!


A vertical stacked kitchen garden!


I love pansies!

Anytime I see a beautiful shade of orange, I am reminded of my wonderful mom and how she always tells me orange is such a happy color - It's so true!

From this photo onward, the tulips got more and more unique and fantastic.  These are all currently in development by professional tulip breeders and were part of an "up-and-coming" showcase.  Beautiful!










LILACS!  My favorite!


Forsythia


Piglets playing!

Chickens, peacocks and peahens, turkeys, ducks, bantam chickens, and geese!


Dove house.

A Dutch breed of chicken called the "Booted Bantam" (check out the feathery feet!).

Calf and protective goose!



Posing!  La-dee-da!


The predecessors of the modern-day "tulipa" (originally dispersed across Europe and central Asia).



I hope these photos are as therapeutic for you as they are for me and that you enjoyed our visit to Keukenhof.  It was a dream come true!

No comments:

Post a Comment