Keukenhof, the world's largest flower garden, is also known as the Garden of Europe. It is situated in Lisse (Stationsweg 166A), in the Netherlands, a small town south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam.

This week in Keukenhof, the biggest indoor Lily exhibition in the world, from 9 to 20 of May. The Lily Show will be exhibited at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion again this year.

The history

Where Keukenhof is situated now, was a hunting area in the 15th century. The current park was a section of the sizeable estate of Slot Teylingen. After the decease of Jacoba van Beieren, Keukenhof fell into the hands of rich merchant families. Baron and baroness Van Pallandt invited landscape architects J.D. and L.P. Zocher, designers of the Amsterdam Vondelpark, to make a design for the garden around the castle. On the initiative of the Lisse mayor of that time and a number of leading flower bulb growers and exporters, an open air flower exhibition was organised here for the first time in 1949. This expanded to an annually recurring event, leading to the park we now know.

Activities in Keukenhof

Keukenhof is a park, where more than 7 million flower bulbs are planted every year. There is a fantastic collection of tulips, orchids, roses, irises and many other flowers. The park is a unique experience for people of all ages, but unfortunately is open only 8 weeks per year. for 2013, Keukenhof is open from the 21st of March to the 20th of May.

Several activities and events take place every year in Keukenhof, like the Flower Parade, the Indoor Flower Shows, where over 600 growers present their most beautiful flowers and leading arrangers create truly unique shows with them or the Inspirational Gardens, with Keukenhof having decorated 7 amazing gardens. In these contemporary gardens, with the size of an average backyard, beautiful Dutch bulbs go together with the garden trend GARDEN 2.0. This trend has been developed in various styles, shows global trends and inspires visitors to get started in their own garden. For more information on the activities and the calendar for May 2013, you can click here.

No matter the several events, Keukenhof is an unforgettable experience on its own and you should definitely visit the park and be overwhelmed by a spectacle of colors and perfumes. But, you only have one week left for this year, so if you wish to visit Keukenhof, buy your tickets here and enjoy!

Photos by bertknot