It has been brought to my attention in the comments that all of the photos in this post are not from the Netherlands. I was unaware that this was true when I posted it. However, I will leave all of the photos intact just to show the pure beauty of the tulips. Keep in mind that some of these are Dutch but others are not. They are all beautiful tulips.
At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the landscape. Vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up a glorious patchwork. Yet far from being a child’s sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern Netherlands in the middle of tulip season. The Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of color as the tulips burst into life. The bulbs are planted in late October and early November. More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany.
Their dazzling colors are thanks to the years in the 17th century when tulip mania swept the globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune. But like a Rainbow, this colorful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon. When the flowers are gone, the land will be cultivated for a rather more mundane crop of vegetables. The Netherlands produce more than nine million bulbs a year
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I just finished reading a book set in the Netherlands and there was alot of talk of the tulips in April and May. They are beautiful!
ReplyDelete@Lisa--I know! They are one of my favorite flowers, but their availability is so short lived! That probably makes them all the more desireable!
ReplyDeleteThese are not all photos of the Dutch landscape. At least one of them was taken at Wooden Shoe Bulb Company in Woodburn, Oregon (the one with Mt. Hood in the background and the John Deere tractor).
ReplyDelete