The tulip is a loved and famous symbol of the Netherlands. Many tourists visit the country only to see these beautiful coloured flowers in the bulb fields. I have not been fortunate enough to visit one of these fields but we did drive past one on our way to Belgium.
I was told that Hollanders normally have a bunch of flowers in their living rooms. I can believe it because in Amsterdam you find florists and little flower shops everywhere.
The tulips start to blossom in April to sometime in mid May depending on the weather. In fact visitors can enjoy flowers all year round in the Netherlands. Flowers include Crocuses, Daffodil, Hyacinths and Gladioli.
One of the biggest flower parades takes place at the end of April each year. It is called the Bollenstreek Flower Parade. The origin of this parade dates 50 years back when initiators of various small parades in villages decided to get together and have one big parade. It is an incredible parade and floats with more than 1.5 million different kinds of flowers are created by volunteers. You can imagine the work that must go into it!
Keukenhof is one of the world´s largest flower gardens – 32 hectares! It is situated between the two towns of Hillegom and Lisse south of Haarlem. It is the most photographed site in the world and attracts 800,000 people. It is only open for 8 weeks of each year.
But where did the Tulip come from?
I thought that the Tulip came from Holland but this is not true. The Tulip was originally a wild flower that grew in central Asia. From there it went to Turkey. The tulip is the national flower and symbol of life in the country of Turkey. So how did it get to Holland?
In 1560 and Austrian envoy brought them from Constantinople to Vienna, where the imperial court botanist, Charles de l’Ecluse, developed a passion for these beautiful flowers. In 1593 he became a professor at Leiden and he took tulips with him. In the 17th century, beginning in Holland, the whole Europe became seized by “Tulip mania.” Tulips were high in demand and traded at extremely high prices.
Holland is now dominating the Tulip market in the world.
Interesting facts about Tulips
• The Tulip is the 3rd most popular flower in the world, next only to the rose and the chrysanthemum.
• The Tulip is a flower in the Genus Tulipa, which comprises of about 150 bulbous species.
• Tulips come in a variety of vibrant colours like red, yellow, orange, purple, pink and many more.
• Tulip flowers normally have 2-6 leaves but you do find species with up to 12 leaves.
• Tulips have a life span of only 3-7 days.
• Tulip flowers are considered a great gift for lovers to demonstrate their passion and love.