Not only are tulips the Netherlands’ trademark flower, but the country also grows the most tulips per year in the entire world, with billions of the popular flower being grown in fields throughout Holland each year. The world’s love of tulips that drives the success of these flower fields is no new phenomenon, however. Tulips have a long history of being a sought after flower.

Eventually, the perennial became a cultivated and beloved flower in the Ottoman Empire. Tulips were then imported from the Ottoman Empire into other countries including Holland in the sixteenth century. During that time, pioneering Dutch Botanist Carolus Clusis, who famously wrote a book about Tulips in 1592, set into motion the Dutch tulip bulb industry through his own cultivations of the flower. After Clusis’ work, tulips continued to rise in popularity in the Netherlands, and in the early 17th century, during the Dutch Golden Age, some historians and economists believe the country even had a “Tulip Mania.” During this period, it is believed that tulips were so sought after and valuable to merchants that their sale led to a speculative bubble.

Today, tulips remain a cherished part of the Dutch landscape, and people across the world respect the Dutch as industry leaders in tulip cultivation. In fact, each spring, over a million people flock to Holland to see the stunning tulip fields and parks in bloom. While Flevoland is considered the largest flower growing region in Holland, you can find breathtaking fields throughout the country during the spring season, like Schouten Tulips in North Holland. During this beloved time of year, tourists can follow The Tulip Route, which shows off nearly 2500 acres of flowering fields in Flevoland, and visit Keukenhof, one of the largest flower gardens in the world located near Amsterdam in Lisse, Holland. Keukenhof opens for a few months each spring (typically March-May) and showcases over 7 million flowering bulbs. We source our Bloomaker tulip bulbs from the very fields that people travel to Holland to see each year.

While we definitely recommend adding the tulip festivals and celebrations in Holland to your bucket list, this year, unfortunately, those events and the opening of Keukenhof have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news, however, is that Keukenhof is offering virtual experiences through videos of the park this season. You can see them here. And, you can always enjoy a taste of the festivities in your own home with one of our Holland-born Bloomaker tulips.