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Monday, April 10, 2017
Another restless night last night. I finally got a couple of hours sleep. The room was still much too warm. When I checked out, the clerk confirmed that the hotel was still on winter climate control, so no a/c...
We grabbed a quick breakfast at this hotel, then loaded the vans with luggage and stuff and headed for Keukenhof Gardens.
The photo to the left shows the sign over the entrance gates.
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The three photos above were taken before the gates opened - they show some of the tulips that were planted in the large planting areas in front of the gates.
The Gardens were everything they promised. We were the first ones through the gates and all headed for the back part of the garden to increase the probability that we wouldn't get people in the shots.
Some of the flower beds at Keukenhof.
These three photos show one of the flowering trees (I think it was a cherry tree). The photo on the left and center include some daffodils in a bed surrounding three sides of this tree. The photo on the right shows the tree from the other side with some of its branches arcing over the stream.
At one end of the Gardens, there was a windmill that we were allowed to climb up into. These three photos above were taken from that vantage point looking out over the nearby fields of hyacinths.
On the other side of the windmill was a large paved plaza with a giant wooden shoe and a rack of wooden tulips for sale. The shoe in this photo is over six feet long. Shortly after these photos were taken, other people started joining us at this end of the Gardens and there were children sitting in this shoe most of the rest of the day.
From another vantage point on the windmill ledge, I could look out over one section of the Gardens. That's the photo on the left. As you can see, the crowds were starting to catch up with us. However, they weren't as heavy as we expected, so it was fairly easy to avoid most of them.
The photo on the right shows the windmill I had climbed up on. This was taken from the little bridge shown on the photo on the left! The ledge was like looking out a third story balcony.
More flowers around the Gardens. The first photo is a closer view of some of the tulips (variety wasn't noted). The next photo shows a flower bed of tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinths. The third photo is a flower bed of mixed spring bulbs including fritillarias and tulips. I had seen fritillarias advertised before, but have never been impressed with them. The accompanying photos always showed one plant by itself, which isn't very impressive. However, as part of a mixed bed of bulbs, they serve as tall exclamation points. I would wind up buying four of these large bulbs before leaving the gardens.
The photo on the right shows part of the Delftware section of the garden. These oversized Delftware figures of the kissing Dutch children look just like the salt and pepper shakers in Delftware that I remember several people having when I was growing up. These were close to three feet tall. Definitely not salt and pepper shakers!
And more flowers!!! The photo on the left was a planter box containing hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils. The center photo shows one of four oversized wheelbarrows full of spring bulbs that were the same color as the wheelbarrow. The other three barrows were painted red, blue, and white. The photo on the right shows another tulip flower bed laid out in stripes.
There were several areas of the Gardens done in themes. The Delftware section was one. The first two photos above show another. They depict a summery, almost "tropical" area complete with a deck area and a shady hammock.
The third photo shows a forested section of the Gardens where they had hung huge reflectors, giving an almost abstract view of the gardens. The mylar reflectors kept bending and distorting the reflections. The fourth photo shows yet another area of the Gardens where geometric shapes dominated, like these criss-crossing beds of tulips.
The first two photos above show another themed area of the Gardens. This time, the theme is farm related. The photo on the left shows daffodils and tulips in a tractor tire planter. The center photo shows mixed flower bulbs planted in metal buckets with an old milk container. The photo on the right shows another flower bed of mixed spring bulbs that includes hyacinths and tulips.
More photos from around the Gardens. The photo on the left is one of the geometric shaped flower beds of tulips and hyacinths. The center photo shows how they incorporated streams and statuary among the many flower beds. The photo on the right shows a small, decorative windmill with tulips.
Actually, the crowds weren't too bad today. I understand that they set attendance records yesterday here. However, yesterday was a gorgeous spring sunday. Today was a partially cloudy monday.
After a while, I got tired of walking and headed for the large display building in the center of the complex. This was a protected area just made for macro (close-up) work. Inside this large building were several blocks of tulips and other bulbs. I think these were showing off the newer varieties. Anyway, it allowed not only getting really close to the flowers, but, since it was inside, there was no breeze. Ideal for this type of photography. The three photos above show some of what I did inside this morning. The photo on the left is a tulip called Zoe. The tulip in the center is called Dordogne. And the tulips on the right are called Brown Sugar. I think I'll keep my eye out for this one appearing in the bulb catalogs. I really liked it.
These two photos were also taken in the large display greenhouse. They are two different views of a tulip called New Design.
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A good time was had by all.
We had some time to kill before our lunch reservation at a nearby restaurant, so we parked at the restaurant and walked back across the street to these fields of tulips and other bulbs growing nearby. We managed to spend enough time shooting here that we were almost late for our reservation!
More of the tulip fields.
The left two photos are more of the tulip fields. The photo on the right was taken after we returned to the Gardens in the early evening hours.
Then it was off to lunch at a nearby restaurant and to check into the hotel we'll be in for the next three nights - the Hotel Flora in Hillegom. It's a much smaller hotel. I think it has about 16 rooms total! And the rooms are smaller, too - more European in feel. Yet they had a very nice restaurant and a very good breakfast buffet.
I downloaded the mornings photos, labeled them, and processed a few for Facebook posting, then backed everything up. Then it was back to the Gardens by 5 pm for an evening shooting session. By the end of the day, I was really tired.
The photo on the left shows one of the many streams running picturesquely through the Gardens.
The photo on the right shows one of several "grape hyacinth rivers" planted in the Gardens. This one had just started blooming. Some of the others were more spectacular.
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These three photos show some of the other grape hyacinth rivers that snake through the trees and flowerbeds.
After we closed the Gardens down for the day, we went back to the hotel for a quick shower, dinner here at the hotel, then bed! Dinner was a decent sole (wow, such a lot of bones!!!) and a glass of cabernet.
I zonked out almost immediately.....