Tulips in Holland 🌷

Tulips in Holland: What You Need to Know

From mid April to early May, tulip fields cover the Dutch countryside. The Famous Keukenhof Flower Garden is able to extend the season from mid March to May.

Our small country might surprise you – we grow 1.7 billion cut flowers each year, representing 60% of the world’s flower trade and generating over 6.2 billion euros annually.

Want to see the world’s largest flower trade in action?

You can visit the Royal FloraHolland Flower Auction near the airport, you need to get up early, but it’s worth it.

Planning Your Tulip Field Visit

The biggest mistake people make is coming too early in the season.

Yes, the Keukenhof might then already be open, but the main the tulips fields are blooming later: typically only three weeks from mid-April.

Weather plays a big role, some years they’re early, some others they’re late.

For the best chance of seeing fields in full bloom, plan your visit late april. If you visit too early you might only see the Keukenhof Flower Gardens, when early in the season most displays are indoors.

Essential Planning Details

• Book hotels far in advance months ahead – especially near Keukenhof, of near events
• Start your flower days early – morning light is best for photos, and for beating the crowds
• Consider weekdays to avoid peak crowds during weekends, when the Dutch also visit

Best Places to See Dutch Tulips

Between Haarlem and Leiden lies the Bollenstreek, our main bulb region. While Keukenhof Gardens draws many of our 20 million annual visitors, the real spectacle is in commercial fields.

The Bollenstreek is ok, but much of the fields are used for commercial flowers ready for shipment to stores (in other words, flowers are cut before they bloom).

I personally go to the Noordoostpolder, where you’ll find extensive tulip fields with FAR fewer visitors.

This is where I take people on a private tour, for a truly Hidden Holland Experience.

Our flower regions thrive due to unique conditions:

• Sandy coastal soil provides perfect drainage
• Sea air creates ideal growing conditions
• The mix of soil acidity and minerals, on former sea beds nurtures bulbs
• Our moderate climate extends bloom time

Inside the Dutch Flower Industry

The flower auction in Aalsmeer starts at 6am, when buyers bid on millions of fresh plants and flowers. It’s spectacular to see with your own eyes. And you can.

Visitors are welcome for a fee every morning from 7 A.M.

Today’s high-tech greenhouses use LED systems to grow flowers year-round, with computers controlling temperature and humidity. This innovation has helped make the Netherlands the world’s fifth-largest export country.

Growing Methods

• Traditional open field cultivation (still the method used for tulips)
• Modern greenhouse technology (many other flowers are grown this way)
• Sustainable farming practices (special watering systems, led lights)
• Crop rotation for soil health (every year I need to find the tulip fields again, because they rotate every year)

Responsible Tulip Field Visits

Working farms need our respect – these fields aren’t just pretty photo spots, they’re how farmers make their living.

More people are showing up with phones and selfie sticks, often trampling through the fields without thinking about the damage they’re causing to the crops.

Let’s keep these places accessible for everyone by being thoughtful visitors. You can still take great photos while protecting the farms and supporting the people who work there.

Here is my guide on the dos and don’t when trying to get that perfect selfie.

Dutch Flower Traditions

Our flower heritage runs deep. Every year, Dutch tulips decorate Saint Peter’s Square in Rome for easter. And the pope always thanks the Netherlands, in Dutch, our local language, for the flowers.

In the 1600s, tulips arrived from Turkey. But the Dutch ran with it. It even sparked the first market bubble in the world. – the Semper Augustus bulb sold for 6,000 guilders, the price of an Amsterdam canal house at the time.

Even at French royal courts, ladies paid 300 guilders for a single tulip to wear in their décolletage.

Working Together: The Polder Model

The Dutch flower industry succeeds through cooperation. Farmers, traders, and growers share knowledge despite being competitors. This is typically Dutch. There not a winner, and a loser. They work together to all win.

This “polder model” dates back to when communities had to work together to manage water levels in fields below sea level. I mean if your neighbor did not build a dyke, while you did, the water would still come in.

Cooperation was essential to survive. Likability, believes, and lifestyles where are all less important.

Today, this cooperation continues:

• Shared auction facilities
• Combined transport systems
• Knowledge exchange
• Joint sustainability initiatives

Want to experience our tulip fields yourself ? Start planning now – the best locations and hotels book months in advance.