No garden weather yesterday. Rain, wind and brrrrrr. Since it is flower bulb season why not take ride to see them before the tulips get beheaded which could be any day now. This area of the bulb fields is about half an hour by car from where we live. Once in the area we just took country roads like this...dikes, water, farms, barns, bicycle riders (see him on the picture?) and... bulb fields. Little anecdote: The stuffed toy on the windshield is supposed to be a bee. Our beekeeping mentor hates any depiction of bees that are not realistic. When we go somewhere with him in our car, he huffs and puffs “That is no bee!”, jerks it off the windshield and tosses it in the back . So, here we are, surrounded by fields of flowers, tulips, narcissus and hyacinths. These are hyacinths, you cannot imagine the wonderful smell but I think that on a sunny day, it may be overpowering. Well, talking about tulips and The Netherlands, we just have to get a little corny. Yes, windmills and tulips hahaha. It’s not just all prettiness, it’s industry. We saw workers in the wind and rain walking between the rows, bent over injecting the ‘wrong’ bulbs with who knows what. On the next pictures there are also a pile of discards. Ahh, more ‘tourist pictures’: Well, I hope you enjoyed this tour of the Dutch bulb fields.
We are so glad...brought back memories for us too. Those fields were so lovely, in spite of the constant rain and wind.
I’m glad you liked seeing those bloomers. They were so impressive to see. I see what you mean that it was nice to see where they come from. It is a big business over here.
I know Cayu, it is. Really breathtaking to see in person. Logan— they will be auctioned and sold In the fall. The largest bulbs, that is. The smaller ones will be replanted for the following year to enlarge. I looked this up for you and found a great website with some interesting things to read. It reads easily. Take a look and scroll down to “The Yearly Cycle” and read all about it: https://ruigrokflowerbulbs.com/our-bulb-farm-in-the-netherlands/ Addendum: Be sure to watch the video down at the “Harvest Time” section.
Sjoerd, thank you for the Tulip Tour. Awesome. The Grape Hyacinth grows among some of our flowers, increasing each year. There are Tulip fields in our state. Not sure if they're just for tourists or also for selling.
Loggie, I am so delighted that you enjoyed the link. GP— I am so pleased that you liked the posting. I am not surprised that there are tulip fields there in Michigan, as there are pockets of Dutch emigrants there...thinking of Holland, Michigan. I visited Holland, Michigan when I was younger.
That was a great link Sjoerd. I am surprised that the bulb farmers can drive that heavy equipment over the fields without destroying the soil or the bulbs. But I guess here in the states, farmers do the same thing, planting & harvesting.
The view of those bulbs is absolutely breathtaking! Wow! Seeing the windmills reminded me about one of my German cousins - her husband restores windmills. I have a newspaper article from one of the German newspapers about it. He is getting rather well known over there.
Ha, ha Mart— you are clever. I am glad that you liked the link, Cayu. Those farmers are professionals. It is amazing to watch them work. When they chop the flowers off the plants it is a bit sad to see, but there is a reason. I can understand that of course. Netty, the sight of those fields are a joyous thing to behold. It is so interesting that you have a family person that is involved with windmill repair. It is such a specialised and important job. I’ll bet he literally loves his job.
