Postcards from Keukenhof

A Prayer in Spring

-Robert Frost 

OH, give us pleasure in the flowers today;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;

And make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard,

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,

To which it is reservered for God above

To sanctify to what far ends he will,

But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Don't you just love Robert Frost? It is officially Spring and the tulips are in full bloom. Ryan and I and our friend Matt who was visiting, made a trip to Keukenhoff, Europe's largest flower garden located 30 minutes north of us in the small town of Lisse. The garden is a sea of color everywhere the eye can see with an astounding seven million bulbs planted inside its grounds every year. The garden has a theme each year; this time it was Poland - Heart of Europe featuring traditional music and dancers, as well as a mosaic of composer Frederick Chopin and his piano keys created completely from brightly colored bulbs.

The history of the tulip is actually quite fascinating. When people think about Holland they typically think of tulips. Although technically the tulip's origin can be traced to Persia and Turkey, it was eventually brought over to The Netherlands and introduced to the Dutch sometime in the 17th century. It soon became a much coveted and popular trading product with bulbs being sold for unbelieveable prices, sometimes more than the amount of an average Amsterdam home. Thus began an era that is referred to in history as "tulipmania."

As the story goes, tulipmania reached it's height in 1637 with some bulbs changing hands some 10-15 times a day. Many can guess that within a few short years, the hysteria surrounding this phenomenon suddenly came to a screaching halt, just as mysteriously as it began. The tulip bubble had burst, leaving in its wake an oversupply of sellers with no buyers. Even with the market crash of this prized bulb, the Dutch still have a passion for flowers. I have heard it said that "for many Dutch people a home is uninhabitable unless there is at least one bunch of flowers on the table."

We heard that Keukenhof was a must-visit destination in the Spring, so it was high on my list of things to do while we are here. We spent a leisurely afternoon walking around and enjoyed a picnic lunch that I packed, including a bottle of wine (the Dutch don't seem to mind this!). We lucked out for the most part with the weather and before the rain decided to fall, I managed to snap some decent shots of this amazing, magical place. Here are my postcards of our day at Keukenhof. If this isn't a good enough reason to come visit us, then I don't know what is!