34 — Sunday, March 14, 1999 — North Shore News

Tull

Neville Judd Contributing Writer

WHAT is it about British people that compels them to wear shorts on holiday, whatever the weather?

Ir wasn’t the first time my Canadian wife Leah had won- dered this out foud, and tip- tocing through Keukenhot’s tulips, my legs pasty damp and glistening, in torrential rain, [ understood her point. Even our one-year-old son Ryan seemed to be looking down his button nose at me.

Through a sea of umbre!- las, other eternally optimistic Brits — socks pulled up to the kneecaps, shorts hoisted to the nipples — snaked their way along Keukenhof’s crowded paths and greenhouses.

Our visit on the last week- end of April fell on something of a red-letter day. Not only was it the gardens’ busiest day of the year, it also turned out to be the wettest. This, com- bined with the annual flower parade from nearby Noordwijk to Haarlem, revived scenes of a phenome- non not witnessed in these parts for three centuries: Tulipomania.

Tulipomania gripped Holland about 370 years ago. After their introduction from Asia in the 16th century, tulips became such a status symbol, wealthy Dutch citizens wilt- ingly paid several thousand guilders for a single bulb.

Prices may have dropped but visitors to Keukenhof couid be forgiven for thinking Tulipomania never ended. Crowds threatened to spill onto the beds in the glass flower pavilion — an especial- ly popular spot out of the rain.

Ryan unilaterally decided he would make a closer inspec- tion of tulips, strangely named Attila, by sitting among them. He followed up by clenching fists fall of soil while posing fora party of Japanese tourists.

Keukenhot’s 24 gardeners must be tempted to sit down on the job occasionally. From late September to the first frost, they plant six million bulbs: first late flowering tulips; then early flowering tulips; and finally crocuses to ensure three bursts of colour throughout spring.

They must also change the park’s 80-acre layout each year to give it a new look and rotate flowers.

It’s difficult to get a good vantage point of tulip fields anywhere in a land so flat but from the top of Keukenhof?s 106-year-old windmill ac the park’s northern-most edge, we saw wave after colourful wave of tulips ripple out through

fields toward the seaside town

more than Keukenhof.

But y tulips — inside Narcissi, dattodils, hyacinths, ancient trees, flower shrubs and an orchid exhibition com- plement ponds and fountains in Landscaped designs.

Seven thematic gardens are designed to inspire people like Wie: amateur gardeners strug: gling for inspiration, Sclected perennials, trees and) shrubs are arranged according te a theme-colour, scent, water, renaissance and so on.

The nature garden, though, was more to our tik-

ing: 7,000 square metres of

bulbs and perennials running wild in a natural environment of flowering shrubs and oak woods. What use is manicured perfection to a one-year-old with a penchant for destruc- tion?

Keukenhof’s pavilions host weekly parades starring differ- ent flowers. Its lily parade has become the world’s largest annual lily show with 300 dif ferent varieties. Also topping the bill are amaryllis, tulips, freesias, hyacinths, irises and narcissi.

In the Queen Beatrix Pavilion, orchids, chrvsanthe- mums, roses and carnations vie for attention, and the Queen Juliana Pavilion hosts floral decoration displays and Delft Blue painting demon- strations.

Dotted around the park arc wooden huts where visitors can order bulbs and have them delivered anywhere in the world. We ordered a selection of tulips for Leah’s dad — a Dutchman living in Canada and still trying to live down the humiliation of planting 200 buibs upside down sever- al years ago. He’s convinced there's a colourful display blooming several feet below his garden every spring.

The order and civiliry of

Keukenhof, even on this busy

4 $22-0689.

north shore news

> TRAVEL

ipmania ori

jwer gardens

Photo Leah Vandeberg

ONE-year-old Ryan Judd gets down and dirty among

Keukenhof's tulips.

day, is a far cry from the wild hunting grounds thar gave the place its name. In the 15th century Countess Jacqueline of Hainault and her entourage hunted in the virgin dunes and

woodland where Keukenhof

now stands. They grew veg- etables and == herbs for Jacqueline’s kitchen, hense the name keuken (kitchen), hof (garden).

Four hundred years later plans were drawn up for an English-style landscaped gar- den but it wasn’t until 1949 that a group of prominent Dutch bulb growers turned the park into a permanent

open-air flower exhibition to showcase the best of the bulb and tlower industry.

Today, the country’s top. 90 growers exhibir the best of their flowers at Keukenhof, located near the town of Lisse, which sits at the centre of what brochures justifiably call “the flower garden of Europe.”

Lisse testifies to the Dutch people’s love of flowers. The first thing that hir me was its smell. In spring, the fragrance of hyacinths overwhelms Lisse and nowhere more so than inside the Hobaho Hails, in the town centre.

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teers craft and: pin blooms on chaborare floats for the annual tlawer parade.

Kees van) Priel, like his father before him, has watched this scene of organized chaos unfold anaually for the best part of 20 vears, As the man who draws up designs for every float and calculates: the number of flowers it will take to cover cach ene, van Driel is only glad he doesn’t have to judge the winner.

“Po stay out of that,” he says, With a wry smile. “How do you pur a figure on art?”

Van Driel bases his 1:25- scale designs on a theme decided by a parade commit- tee. His drawings go to a blacksmith wh: creates a metal framework for “straw people” to cover it in straw mats.

Growers deliver their flow- ers, mainly hyacinths, but some daffodils and tulips, leav- ing volunteers, working 40 to a float, four frantic days and nights to realize van Dricl’s vision.

“The volunteers take tine off work to do this. You can’t get people with long faces- that’s what [ like about the parade,” says van Driel.

This particular year’s theme is monuments, henee floats depicting the Taj Mahal, Parthenon, Trevi Fountain and Chinese Wall lining one side of the hail. The floats turn the Hobaho Halls into a year- ly _ateraction but the parade remains the main event. For more than 50 — years, Noordwijk has shur down on the last Sunday in April to host the start of the procession. From here it plies its way to Haarlem via Lisse, Hillegom and Bennebrock.

We had planned to rent bikes in Noordwijk on the day of the parade. Sadly, the rain dictated otherwise.

Noordwijk’s tourist: office publishes a detailed 35-kilo- metre cirele route that takes evelists through che flower garden of Europe. t waking in Keukenhot on its way.

fT wasn't dressed for it anv: way.

IF YOU GO

© Keukenhof celebrates its 50th anniversary in 1999 with the addition of a spring garden exhibit during its March 25- May 24 opening season. The gardens reopen Aug. 19 to Sept. 19 tor Zomerhof, a spe- cial anniversary exhibition, which explores the combina- tion of flowering summer bulbs with perennials,

Admission is 17 guilders per adult; 8.50 guilders for children aged four to 12. You can reach Keukenhof by public transport. Travel by train from any station to either Haarlem or Leiden station. From Leiden the express bus 54 goes to Keukenhof. From Haarlem, take regular buses 50 or 5], including a transfer at Hyacintenstraat in Lisse.

For combined train/bus/admission tickets, ask abour “Rail Idea” at Dutch railway stations.

For more information on Keukenhof, caiJ. = 31-252- 465555

¢ Bike rentals are available in Noordwijk at Kees Fietsshop on Van Speykstraat, near the sea front. (071- 3620347). The tourist office- VVV Noordwijk-is signposted throughout the town and can be contacted within Holland at 0900-2020404 or visix its web page at wwwvevnoord- wijk.nl

Neville Judd was a quest of the Dutch Tourist board and flew from London City Airport to Austerdam-Schipol courtesy of KLM Air UK. (01279 660560.)

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