Convergence V34_March-April2016

A Grandiose Beginning
With a grand garden comes a grander history.
Keukenhof was part of the Teylingen Castle
estate and the grounds were often used for
hunting. Come the 15th century, Countess
Jacoba van Beieren used a patch of the land
to grow her very own herb garden. And,
that’s how the area got its name Keukenhof,
which means ‘kitchen garden’.
Then, rich merchants took over the land
after the death of the Countess and it is not
until the 19th century that the garden was
landscaped and established into what it is
today. The idea then was to present a
flower exhibit where growers and farmers
from all over Netherlands and Europe
gathered to show off their hybrids; a
tradition still preserved till present days.
Since its inaugural opening in 1950,
Keukenhof was an instant success and drew
236,000 visitors in its first year.
Travel
The Golden Age
For 2016, the theme for the 67th edition of
Keukenhof is “Golden Age” and is reflected
through a flower mosaic bulb motif. Golden Age is
simply a reflection of an era where Netherlands
became rich through its trade across the world;
which also happens to be the period where the
tulip trade flourished!
The flower bulb mosaic covers an area of 250m 2
with about 100,000 flower bulbs (tulips, grape
hyacinths (muscari) and crocuses) used. It shows
a Delft Blue tile on which the trade across the
seas and the rich canal-side houses of
Amsterdam are depicted.
The theme “Golden Age” is also an inspiration
to the many flower shows in the Oranje
Nassau Pavilion.
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