Bloc Magazine Spring 15

WWW.BLOCHOTELS.COM // 31 MARVEL A BLOOMING WORDS // ELAINE NORTH ------------------------------------------------------ E ach spring the tulip fields of Northern Holland are transformed into blocks of gaudy colour resembling the canvas of a geometrical abstract artist who has spent a little too much time in the coffee shops of Amsterdam. Even the masterpieces of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky pale in comparison to the vast acres of the country dedicated to producing the 3billion tulips grown in Holland each year. The scale is mind-blowing. Just half an hour’s drive from Amsterdam are the growing fields of the Noordoostpolder…the world capital of tulip growing. It is also home to the largest flower auction in the world, FloraHolland in Aalsmeer. There are around 75 different species of tulips in every colour of the rainbow, ranging from maroon, purple and black through to cream and palest yellow. The Netherlands even hosts an annual festival to celebrate its national flower. The weather in Holland is perfect for tulip growing, with cool springs just as they begin to bloom. And the constant draining of soil between the dikes creates the ideal conditions for them to flourish. Tulip season extends from the end of March through to May, but hits its peak in mid- April. The best place to enjoy this assault on your senses Keukenhof in Lisse, which is covered by more than 7,000 bulbs in the spring. Tulips were first cultivated in Persia in the 10th century and were bred during the Ottoman Empire. It is thought they were first brought to Northern Europe early in the 1500s as a gift from the ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I. Biologist Carolus Clusius planted tulips in Vienna’s Imperial Botanical Garden in 1573 and later went on to establish Leiden University’s Hortus Botanicus. Tulips first arrived in Holland in 1594. Between 1634 and 1637, enthusiasm for the flowers reached a speculative frenzy now known as the Tulip Mania. The blooms became so expensive that they were used as currency. “I MET A DUTCH GIRL WITH INFLATABLE SHOES LAST WEEK. “I PHONED HER UP TO ARRANGE A DATE BUT UNFORTUNATELY SHE’D POPPED HER CLOGS.” PETER KAY