The Perfect Time to Visit Holland

Little Girl in Traditional Dress picking Tulips

Tulips in Europe have a long history, originating in the East; they were not introduced into western Europe until the mid-1500’s and did not come into vogue in the Netherlands until the early 1600’s. Tulips take many years to grow from seed but their beautiful, strong colouring made a cheerful sight in the springtime of the northern climates, and were worth the wait for the newly rich and privileged Dutch designing their estate gardens. But just as we do today, people started planting the tiny offshoot bulbs instead of the seed, resulting in spectacular blooms within a year or two. Adding to this, viruses appeared that affected the bulbs, producing one-off exotic varieties of color and shape; these could only be reproduced from the “babies” of the affected bulbs, and not from the seed. So the tulip bulbs themselves rather than the seeds became enormously coveted. Consequently, prices of individual bulbs inflated to astronomical levels only to burst drastically and dramatically within a few years. But the Dutch maintained their love affair with this colourful turban-shaped flower regardless.

Windmill and Tulips

Tulip “season” kicks off early in the year with a National Tulip Day in January but actually does not start, depending on the weather, until late March when you might see the first crocuses, daffodils and early bloomers. To ensure yourself of the best possible displays of tulips, one should plan your visit for mid to late April. The blooms are all but gone a month later so be hesitant about too late a date in May. You might even be so lucky as to be there for the Flower Parade ( check http://www.holland.com for the date in late April).

Within a small radius ( less than an hour’s journey) from Amsterdam, you can tour the countryside of field after field of glorious blooms. The Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse is the place to go if you wish to see a vast variety of tulip blooms – over 7000 different bulbs – amidst a breath-taking park-like setting of thousand of trees over acres of gardens – a magnificent feast for the eyes. Be sure to take your camera on this excursion!

Keukenhof Gardens

You will be tempted by sales of tulip bulbs when visiting the many flower markets such as the Leeuwarden market and the Floating Flower Market in Amsterdam (at the Singel Canal).Thinking of taking a few bulbs back home to grace your garden? Look for specific varieties with signage indicating they are permissible for import to the United States ( note: the vast majority of varieties will not be available for import). Even with certification from the seller, your bulbs could possibly be confiscated at customs if there are even hints of growth, soil, pests, etc. Travelling from Canada? Then forget it, even if the signs say certified for Canada, as you have to apply in Canada before you leave and the red tape is, well, lots of red tape and hassle. A suggestion is to note the varieties you like when in Holland and enquire of local or mail order nurseries in your own country when you return home.

An extremely popular way to have your Tulip Spring in Holland is to book a Tulip Time river cruise as it offers your hotel, meals, entertainment, tours, and expert local guides all in one leaving you to relax, enjoy the oceans of colour in the tulip fields, take hundreds of photos, and make it a travel bucket memorable vacation.

Article originally written for The Travel Bucket. Images courtesy of  Bigstock.