Luud ter Laak’s voice dropped to a reverent whisper as he leaned over to gently touch the tulip. “This is my favourite,” he said, pointing to the plaque proudly pronouncing its name: Yellow Crown.

Luud ter Laak, one of 25 full-time gardeners at Keukenhof, showing his favourite Yellow Crown.Luud ter Laak, one of 25 full-time gardeners at Keukenhof, showing his favourite Yellow Crown.

Looking at the gnarled yellow petals, you might be forgiven for thinking his choice is somewhat random. After all, there are some 3,000 types of tulips, each with their own name – dutifully logged in a classified list – with a stunning variety that ranges from the deep velvet hues of the mythical, nearly black one, to the burlesque yellow fringe on a red one, from pale pastel streaks on a white one to luscious multiple layers on another.

But the Yellow Queen is a relatively new tulip, only 10 years old, a baby compared to the 150-year-old strains still growing now in the historic section of Keukenhof, where a plaque and bust pay tribute to the man who brought the precious bulbs over from Turkey.

Tulip mania peaked in 1637, when a single bulb cost 10 times the annual salary of a skilled worker but tulips have remained closely associated with their adoptive land, the Netherlands, and the passion for these bulbs has not waned, even if they no longer cost as much as a house.

Luud is one of 25 full-time gardeners at Keukenhof, an extensive 32-hectare park with neatly tended paths, lakes, streams, bridges and over seven million flowers, open only from March to May every year. Another 15 join the team for the busiest times, planting, dead-heading and tending the site.

This is his eighth season there and, as he wheels a large trolley of newly sprouted bulbs – mostly tulips – to fill in the gaps at one of the Inspiration gardens, a romantic gazebo in pinks and white where couples frequently get engaged, he talks with passion.

“Tulips will last a few weeks as long as it is not too hot, so we have to make sure the park is always looking its best. But it evolves over the two months. What you see now is not what someone would have seen in March, when there were many more crocuses,” he explained.

The bulbs are donated by around 100 companies, whose names are proudly displayed by each bed.

It is the best possible way to promote their latest collections, as they are seen and admired by 1.2 million visitors during those few weeks. Their donations are not, however, left to chance. The most fascinating part of Keukenhof – and why it is so much more than just a day out to look at flowers – is that it is completely different every year. At the end of the season, all the bulbs are dug up and composted and designer Martin Elling starts working on the next year’s display, from the shape of the beds to the colours and heights of each tulip, from the contours of the beds to the long-range view through trees, across lakes, peeping through fountains.

Once the year’s display is cleared and the designs completed, the gardeners start planting the bulbs in October, in three layers with crocuses on top, then early flowering tulips and then the late flowering ones.

It takes till at least mid-December. The rest of the park also has to be spruced up, from the paths and trees to the lakes and fountains. There is barely enough time to get everything ready before the bulbs start to poke through the soil.

There is a windmill, boat trips through the tulip fields, a fountain display, a petting farm, arranged flower shows and every typical Dutch fast food you can imagine.

One can take pictures pretending to kiss a Dutch boy in the Delft garden and cross the lake on wooden stepping stones. The overall effect is mesmerising, something which thousands of visitors try to capture and share on social media.

But really, it is all about the flowers, each an extraordinary creation that lifts the spirits. From the ‘aaaah’ on the bus from Japanese tourists when the first stripes of tulips appear in the fields to the thousands of selfies and close-ups, this garden offers a little slice of heaven you will want to go to every year.

Keukenhof is open until May 21.

How to get there

Keukenhof is situated in Lisse, the Netherlands. Bus 858 goes straight from Schiphol airport to the garden. It is just a 20-minute journey and you can buy a joint bus and entrance ticket to save queueing once you get there.

Keukenhof is an extensive 32-hectare park with neatly tended paths, lakes, streams, bridges and over seven million flowers.Keukenhof is an extensive 32-hectare park with neatly tended paths, lakes, streams, bridges and over seven million flowers.

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