Hyacinths at Keukenhof

I think I’ll let the photos in this blog speak for themselves.  I took all of these photos at Keukenhof (Netherlands) a couple of years ago and thought we could all use a little spring color and can hopefully imagine the scent of this popular bulb.  Garden hyacinths (Hyacinthus) have a long history of use in the garden (fall planted) and the scent is not to be missed. Keukenhof is an 80 acre park (open to the public in 1950) that showcases 7 million bulbs every spring among many other wonderful plantings.  I was one of the first visitors in the gate that day and took over 3,000 photos very quickly.  I caught the absolute best overlap of hyacinths, later daffodils (Narcissus) and early tulips (Tulipa).  Some might call Keukenhof “touristy”….well, of course it is and the 1 million + visitors every year get to enjoy unbelievable spring color.  I’ve checked this destination off the “bucket list” but would return annually if my time/budget allowed!  Hyacinths will start blooming at our garden in the next couple of weeks but our collection is quite as comprehensive or impressive!  Enjoy!

Hyacinthus ‘Gipsy Queen’ (‘Gypsy Queen’) – above and below

Hyacinthus ‘Pink Pearl’ – above and below

Hyacinthus ‘Purple Sensation’ – above and below

Hyacinthus ‘Delft Blue’ – above

Hyacinthus ‘Jan Bos’ – above

Hyacinthus ‘Woodstock’ – above and below with Scilla siberica

Hyacinthus ‘Blue Star’ – above

Hyacinthus ‘Miss Saigon’ – above

Hyacinthus ‘China Pink’ – above and below

Hyacinthus ‘Fondant’ – above and below

Hyacinthus ‘Top Hit’ – above

Hyacinthus ‘Atlantic’ – above

Hyacinthus ‘Carnegie’ – above and below

Hyacinthus ‘Crystal Palace’ – above

Hyacinthus ‘Anastasia’ – above

Hyacinthus ‘Carnegie’ (white) and ‘Blue Jacket’