It's tulip planting season! Tulips, native to south eastern Europe and the middle East, have been refined over the last 400 years by the Dutch. This is no where more evident than in a special garden, Keukenhof which was originally part of a 15th century castle. The name translates to mean "the kitchen garden". Though quite a bit bigger than the name suggests, it claims to be the largest flower garden in the world at 79 acres. It is built around a picturesque garden installed in 1850's with curved paths, a naturalistic lake, and clusters of mature trees. Unlike a traditional picturesque garden designed to mimic ideal nature, this one is dedicated to showing off roughly 7 million tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths in line with the gardenesque style. This garden is full of show stopping combinations. It's open only a few weeks each year. In the meantime, happy planting!
