It’s almost tulip season!

There are generally two things that people think of when they think of the Netherlands - tulips and windmills. And there’s a reason these two things are equated with the low lands of western Europe, but in the case of the tulip it did not originate in the Netherlands. Actually, windmills didn’t originate in the Netherlands either, even though the Dutch are definitely known for their use…but that’s another story.

Tulips made their way from Kazakhstan through China, Turkey and Belgium before settling in the Netherlands in the 1590’s. These rare at the time flowers were put on display in Leiden (not far from the famous Keukenhof) where guests could visit the flowers. Shortly after they became available for purchase and Dutch tulip mania began. This lasted for over 40 years! Tulips became such a part of the Dutch economy that at times you could purchase goods with them. There’s even a famous story about someone purchasing a house with tulips - can you imagine? Um…hello, I’d like to buy your house with these incredibly rare tulip bulbs.

Today, tulips are still big business, but likely not in the way you think. Dutch farmers are generally not farming for the flowers, rather, they are cultivating and selling the bulbs. Over three billion tulip bulbs are exported from the Netherlands every year. There is, of course, tourism based around tulip fields and the gardens at Keukenhof. I’m excited to share the colourful world of tulip season with my guests and to also experience it for myself. Last year, we arrived too late (early May) to see any of the fields in bloom, but we did manage to make it to Keukenhof on one of the last days it was open. It was beautiful and well maintained, but we definitely missed peak season.

When we lived in Oregon, we actually had a huge tulip farm called Wooden Shoe Tulip farm. It was close to our house and we visited a couple of times. It was incredible to see the rainbow of flowers that popped up for just a few weeks. The timing of the flowers always amazed me because in Willamette Valley it is usually quite cold, rainy and cloudy until late spring, but these flowers didn’t care. They went on doing their thing in March and April, bringing incredible color to an otherwise grey world. It comes as no surprise that the climate in the Netherlands is similar to that part of Oregon - relentless cold and grey skies for a lot of the year. I suppose that’s why the owners of the farm knew it would work. Just like we’re seeing a lot of vineyards pop up in the Netherlands.

We’ve had a pop of warm weather this week and I wonder what it will do to the tulip growing season. Yesterday was 17-18°C (62-63°F) and most of the next week is above 10°C (50°F). Those temperatures should definitely wake up those sleeping bulbs and get some energy into sprouting. We shall see, but it may be an early season if the weather is consistently warm. In addition to the warm weather, we are seeing some rain return. It’s been a long and unusual dry spell due to extreme high pressure over northern Europe, so it’s good to have some wet weather in the forecast. I’m sure all the farmers are happy to see it.

If you want to learn more about tulips, let me know! I’ll definitely be doing a YouTube video on it as the season gets started and will share some fun facts and, of course, pictures and videos of the incredibly beautiful fields! And of course if you’re interested in a tour, send me an email!

Until next time,

Cheers!