Every year, over a million tourists visit Keukenhof, one of the largest and most magnificent flower gardens on the planet. This year everything is different, and very few people will be able to lay their eyes on the beautiful flowerbed arrangements of the world-famous park, as it, too, closed its gates for the first time in 71 years to meet quarantine guidelines. Luckily, the park’s governance arranged for Albert Dros, a famous professional landscape photographer from the Netherlands to visit and photograph the gardens, so that you, too, can take a sneak peek of the striking beauty of Keukenhof this year.
Also known as the Garden of Europe, the stunning flower garden is situated in the country most well known for its dreamy landscapes featuring windmill and tulips - the Netherlands, in a town called Lisse. According to the official website of the garden, Keukenhof Park takes up an area of 32 hectares and includes a man-made stream, a windmill, a castle, and a forested area. A mind-boggling 7 million flower bulbs are planted at Keukenhof every fall.
Two of the world-famous annual features of the park are the so-called Blue River, an alley of blue grape hyacinths emerging in-between the trees pictured above, and the Keukenhof windmill, another standout element of the famous Dutch garden.
The history of the beautiful garden starts in 1857, when Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt, the owners at the time, tasked landscape artist Jan David Zocher and his son to create a park around the Keukenhof castle. The very same park became the foundation for the gardens. The attention to detail in every flowerbed and the intricate designs they create when seen from above is truly captivating.
A man-made stream, parts of which can be even explored by boat, is another beautiful feature of the garden. There are also several sculptures scattered throughout the gardens, one of which you can see in the image below.
