What does it take to create the most beautiful spring bulb garden in the world? A lot.

According to the official website, Keukenhof Park covers an area of 32 hectares (79 acres) and approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted in the gardens annually.

A ton of work goes into making these gardens stunning, even though they are open to the public for just a brief time each year.

Bulbs Are Planted Manually Each Year

Keukenhof’s 40 gardeners plant millions of spring bulbs, by hand, every October and November. This includes a large variety of tulip types and colors, as well as hyacinths, and daffodils. They stack bulbs in the ground so that early and later bloomers help extend ‘the show’.

After the gardens are closed to the public, the gardeners dig up all of the bulbs and they are stored in wooden crates for drying. Then, in October and November, they go through the entire planting process again.

Planting and digging up bulbs every year?! Perhaps that’s why my tulips have never done well after a year or two.

Keukenhof Tulip Fields

You can’t walk through Keukenhof’s tulip fields. You can explore the surrounding area by bike, but the fields are not open to tourists to walk through. Makes sense given the expense of damaged plants due to being trampled on as people focus on their quest for that all-important Instagram pic.

Machines plant and harvest the bulbs in the fields, but it is still a meticulous process. And these fields are worth big bucks.

Keukenhof Boat Tour

Keukenhof also offers a boat tour along the canals that surround some of their tulip fields (for an additional fee.)

Windmill Viewing Platform

There’s a windmill on the grounds of Keukenhof (towards the back where the boats launch.) For a different view of the fields, walk up the stairs inside the windmill to the platform (equivalent to about 2 stories.) Great photo opp!

Spring Weather in Holland, The Netherlands

*A bit of rain during our day at Keukenhof Gardens didn’t detract from the experience at all. The colors of all the flower beds seemed to ‘pop’ under cloudy skies.*

The Netherlands in the spring is unpredictable weather-wise other than the weather constantly changing. When we visited, the temperature hovered in the mid-40s for many of the days and we had lots of clouds and rain. On some days that rained, we had a few hours of blue skies. The previous week it was sunny and 15 degrees warmer. Bottom line: be prepared for any kind of weather.

When Should You Plan Your Visit?

The dates may shift slightly each year, but Keukenhof typically opens in late March and closes in early May—it’s open about 6 weeks. You’ll find tulips are the queens of the exhibit, but there are amazing gardens of grape hyacinths and daffodils as well. Azaleas, rhododendrons, and flowering trees will be in bloom too.

The best time to visit and see gardens at their peak is usually early- to mid-April.

A Few Planning Tips

Check the Holland Flower Parade schedule and arrange your trip for the week prior or after. We did not want to be in Holland for the weekend of the parade because of the crowds it brings to the area including Keukenhof Gardens.
In 2025, the 78th Holland Flower Parade will take place on Saturday, April 12. My recommendation would be to schedule your trip to Keukenhof between April 5th and April 10th.
Tulip season is busy. Hotels book as much as a year in advance. We decided to split our stay between Leiden (a small city south of Amsterdam and close to Keukenhof) and Amsterdam. Leiden is more affordable than Amsterdam and just as convenient to the Keukenhof Gardens.
We booked our Keukenhof tickets for a 10:30 am slot mid-week rather than a weekend. Later in the afternoon, as we were leaving, it felt busier.
In addition to Keukenhof, visit the Aamsleer Flower Auction. This is a hidden gem. The auction itself is online but what you’ve come to see is how fast flowers are allocated to individual distributors and shipments. Every day, there are thousands of auction trolleys carrying millions of different flowers and plants across a floor that is about the size of 200 football fields. Doors open at 7:00 AM, and most of the fanfare/chaos is over by 8:30-8:45 AM. Worth getting up early for.