ZacharyLee

What are the best tulip gardens to go to? I am looking at going to Amsterdam next spring and really want to see a tulip garden during my brief stay there.

MmePerdu

The most beautiful tulip garden I've ever seen is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. No help on your trip to the Netherlands, but for future reference if you're a lover of tulips.

http://www.goldcountryphotos.com/tulips/

My photos:
http://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/gall...time-at-ananda

hetismij2

Tulip garden? Keukenhof. Tulip fields either Lisse, or the Noordoost Polder.

A lot will depend on when you are visiting, and what sort of spring we have as to how many tulips are in bloom.

ZacharyLee

Thanks MmePerdu One of my family members wants to see a real one so knowing that one is so close by to me helps

Thank you for the recommendations as well hetismiji 2 I am planning on visiting in late March to mid April. Is that a good time to see them?

hetismij2

That is probably a bit early. Late April/early May would be better for tulips. Keukenhof reopens on 23 March next year9until 21 May). They will have lots of other bulbs in bloom but probably not many, if any, tulips.
Of course we could have a ridiculously soft winter and early spring (one can but hope!) but I wouldn't count on it.

spaarne

<i>Best Tulip Garden
Posted by: ZacharyLee on Oct 2, 16 at 2:08pm
What are the best tulip gardens to go to? I am looking at going to Amsterdam next spring and really want to see a tulip garden during my brief stay there.</i>

Here is a photolog of one of my visits to Keukenhof, http://www.enjoy-europe.com/travelog/Keukenhof2008.htm. I don't know if it is the "best" but it the best I have seen.

<i>I am planning on visiting in late March to mid April. Is that a good time to see them?</i>
No. Push back a month.

Cathinjoetown

Doesn't Keukenhof force some beds so there's a tulip display from opening day onward?

Agree a bit later is better.

annhig

there are species tulips that come into flower a bit earlier than the others and some tulips can be forced [ones in pots] but so far as i know there's not a lot they can do with the millions of bulbs which are just planted in the ground which will typically flower from the beginning of April to the middle of May depending on variety.

Mid to late April is probably the safest time if you want to see the really dramatic displays.

PalenQ

flower fields surround the Keukenhof and if tulips are out there are steps to platforms at the park to see miles of flowering blooms - not just tulips.

but I'd go to the Keukenhof even if pre-tulips - it is the horticultural show of the year for Dutch flower growers.

nukesafe

Well, if you are going to tout your local tulips in California, MmePeurdu, here is a link to our tulip festival in Skagit County in northern Washington State Our county produces more tulip bulbs than any other county in the States.
http://www.tulipfestival.org/

Funny story. An elderly neighbor prided herself in her tulips, and insisted that she would only plant those she ordered from the Netherlands. One year, as she anxiously awaited her shipment of bulbs, she got a letter from her supplier in Holland, saying, "Sorry your shipment will be delayed, as our supplier in the Skagit Valley had a late harvest." Go figure.

MmePerdu

Nukesafe, while I have you on the line, I've always wondered why, after I began a discussion years ago on Frommer's for a gtg in Paris and you said you planned to be there, you then didn't respond to my invitation. I admit, I took it personally. I suppose your best out will be to say you don't remember. But I recall every time I see your name.

nukesafe

If I missed our date, MmePerdu, I most abjectly apologize. Point of fact, however, is that I have never, to my recollection, been on the Frommer's website. If I ever was it must have been many years ago, indeed.

Of course, at my age my mind is like a razor --- a disposable one. It passes belief that I would forget a assignation with a woman as fascinating as yourself.

Mea Culpa!

Sue81

Hi Zachary, Definitely the Keukenhof Gardens, just out side of Amsterdam. Look it up on google and go when the gardens are at their peak. Really gorgeous gardens, all different varieties of spring bulbs and millions of tulips. I don't think you can beat this. Sue

MmePerdu

Nukesafe, apology accepted. It appears you've had a peculiar day today, so think no more about this part.

nukesafe

You are a generous women. We may be going back to Paris next year. I will try to let you know when, and perhaps miracles will happen.

Ackislander

We did a lot of compulsive analysis last year and determined that the statistically perfect day for tulips in the Netherlands is April 28. Thus, the statistically perfect week is the week containing April 28.

This may be silly, but it worked extremely well for Keukenhof. The flowers in the gardens and the in the surrounding fields were lovely. Elsewhere, some fields had already been harvested, but only a few.

Some advice for Keukenhoff: don't go on a weekend or holiday, especially King's Day. Traffic backed up for miles. Do get there as early as you can. We were there at opening and left a bit after 1PM. So many people were entering then that it was actually difficult to walk against the flow. Don't let a drizzly day stop you. Photographs taken on gray days are often better than those done in the sun.

That said, 7 of 10 days we spent in Holland and Belgium last April had rain, wind, sleet, and snow flurries. That is unusual, but having waterproof clothing, hats, gloves, and sweaters is very useful a anywhere in Northern Europe at that time.