Keukenhof

Welcome to Keukenhof . In the 15th century the area on which Keukenhof now stands was a stretch of nature owned by Jacoba van Beieren. Besides being used for hunting, the estate was also used to gather herbs for the kitchen at the castle-hence the name Keukenhof or Kitchen garden.

Jacoba van Beieren was born in 1401 and died in 1436. She was Countess of Holland, Zeeland and Henegouwen . In her brief life she married four times and also spent a number of years in prison. She had waged war during a great part of her life. She even fought against one of her former husbands. In 1433 she had to renounce all her counties. She retired and died of tuberculosis in Castle Teylingen not far from Keukenhof.

The opening of the gardens each year is a big event. The queen usually comes and opens the exhibit officially. Each year the gardens have a theme and this year it is Amerika. The links between the Netherlands and the U.S. go back a long way. In 1609 Henry Hudson on behalf of the Dutch East India Company stepped ashore on what is now Manhattan and New Amsterdam was established. Later the name was changed to New York. The city of Harlem was named after Haarlem and Wall Street is derived from the Waal river.

During World War II most of the tulip bulbs in the Netherlands were boiled and eaten as you would potatoes. The Germans did not care for them so it was a great staple for the Dutch for some time.

This beautiful floral exhibition has been repeated every year for the last 60 years. I have heard about the tulip fields most of my life but this is the first time I was actually able to visit. The pictures just do not do it justice. We drove through miles of tulip fields every color of the rainbow and it was a great day.