Keukenhof 2014

Keukenhof 2014

The tulip is the distinctive icon of the Netherlands throughout the world. And as the Keukenhof’s theme this year is Holland, it can do no other than give the tulip centre stage. With millions of tulips blooming in the park and more than a hundred thousand tulips in the Willem-Alexander pavilion, Keukenhof is the place to see tulips. Other reasons that make Keukenhof the place to learn everything about the tulip include the renewed historic tulip garden as well as exhibitions about the history of the tulip, 17th Century tulip mania, tulip myths and modern tulip cultivation.

Long journey



Mania and myth

Already a popular flower in the Netherlands, at the beginning of the 17th Century the tulip became even more popular. Flowers with flame-like effects were particularly very popular. These reminded people of marble, which was also highly desirable at the time, as were shells with a marbled pattern. Slow tulip bulb reproduction meant supply didn’t increase quickly, but demand did. This led to speculation, with each buyer paying higher amounts than the previous one. The first speculation, or tulip mania, was born. The mania reached its height between 1634 and 1637, with more than a thousand Dutch guilders being paid for some tulips: an astronomic amount, particularly at that time. Bulb speculation ended in February 1637, but the tulip’s popularity in the Netherlands still continues today.

The actual reason for the flame-like tulip was only discovered in 1931: the tulip breaking virus, transferred by aphids and causing a uniform-coloured flower to change into an erratic-looking one.

Alexander Dumas’s book, The Black Tulip (La Tulipe Noire), was published in 1850. A myth was born. It tells the story of a competition in Haarlem in which a large sum was offered to anyone who could develop a black tulip. Set in 1672, the story made an indelible impression on many. The story still appeals to the imagination today.

The colour black does not exist in nature; it is actually intense red or purple. Since the end of the 19th Century various cultivars have been introduced that were almost black. Of these, the ‘Queen of the Night’ is still popular, with some 60 ha still being cultivated. Other, more modern cultivars include ‘Ronaldo’ (30 ha) and ‘Blackjack’ (10 ha). Today agriculturalists are still working on dark tulips, but the market for these is limited. These tulips can be found in Keukenhof. (Keukenhof)

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