Garden of Europe

Gardens have been cultivated since 1500 BC in Egypt, and have served as a backdrop for many a love story as well as inspiration for generations of artists, musicians and poets.

I too am on a perennial quest for inspiration, and seek out these botanical wonders every chance I get.

In spring this year, I was thrilled to be given a tour of the Garden of Europe, otherwise known as Keukenhof by my new friend, Erik Maitimo. The gardens are situated just outside the town of Lisse, South Holland.

Aunty Jo-Jo enjoying spring blooms @ Keukenhof Gardens, Holland

I can hardly describe the thrill at entering those gardens. Although the tulip season was largely over, the setting was so beautiful. The blue sky, fresh air, gorgeous flowers and tranquil park lent a dreamlike quality to our morning stroll. We spent 2 leisurely hours strolling through the different pavilions, and even stopped for a coffee. There was a indoor pavilion filled with some of my favourite flowers - tropical lilies - in every colour! The heady scent of the blooms was almost too much to bear.





These flowers are part of the annual exhibit that allows growers from all over the Netherlands and Europe to show off their hybrids. Netherlands is the world's largest exporter of flowers.

In fact, did you know that the first stock market crash was caused by tulips? In the early 17th century, tulips could cost up to 1000 Dutch florins and were exchanged for land, livestock and houses. However in 1637, tulip traders could no longer get the inflated prices for the bulbs and the bubble burst.

From that day onwards, the pattern has been repeated with junk bonds, dot-coms and sub-prime mortgages ;-)