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Flowers only in spring?

Perhaps a dumb question but are the flowery areas only flowery in April?

Posted by
9200 posts

Not sure anyone can answer your query with 100% accuracy.

On my block in the Land of La ( Los Angeles ) lovely pink blossoms have bloomed on trees. It’s Feb 15.

2024 calendar date for the beginning of Spring is March 19.

Posted by
4087 posts

"Flowery areas" is a pretty vague geographic description. Blossoming seasons will vary according to region and climate (and, of course, variety of plant.) For one example, the fields full of Dutch tulips are quite a sight but the flowers are botanical crops and the blossoms will be cut to promote the vigor of the bulbs. I'm sure that others on the board can help you with that type of knowledge if you make your desires better known.

Posted by
5413 posts

What 'flowery areas', specifically, are you referring to? You will see flowers blooming all over the country from early spring through fall. The commercial tulip fields will probably all be harvested by late spring. The Keukenhof Flower Garden will be open this year from Mar 21 to May 12. But the larger Keukenhof Castle Garden complex is open all year and will have flowers other than tulips to view. Besides the Keukenhof, there are several botanical gardens scattered about the Netherlands.

Posted by
700 posts

Thanks for the responses. Since this was posted in Netherlands forum I was thinking of some of flower fields of Holland more so than LA. There is a flower field in Carlsbad, CA, USA which seems to bloom for month in late spring. I’m currrntly in China and there are already cherry blossoms mid-February. And I suspect some flowers are still around in cooler climates like Holland late summer but not sure, ergo my question. Was thinking of going spring originally but now wondering if early September would be scenic for flowers.?

Posted by
1577 posts

It’s still not clear to me what you mean by “the flowery areas”. Do you mean the area with famous flower fields with the endless rows of tulips?

Posted by
7863 posts

California's growing season is not comparable to the Netherlands. You did not use the word "bulbs" in your OP, which is important because even in California, it is not possible for a bulb plant to bloom for months at a time, unlike Giant Ranunculus, in the Flower Fields. In general, fields of flowers in the Netherlands are commercial bulb farms, which bloom once a year, and are often not harvested for cut flower, but cultivated to maximize the size and vigor of the bulbs, which are ... the "product." (Of course there are cut flower farms, too. But selling one-bloom bulbs is not the same "business" as selling long-term bloomers like Ranunculus.)

Much discussion here covers a very popular commercial botanical garden in Lisse, Netherlands.
https://keukenhof.nl/en/
It's only open about two months a year, schedule announced well in advance. Of course the exact displays are affected by climate and weather, but normal public-garden techniques allow them to have "rolling" displays of multiple bulbs in the same locations. They also have azaleas, rhododendrons, and other perennials planted. But their blooming is harder to "artificially" control.

It is possible to view (in season) commercial bulb fields from the perimeter fences of Keukenhof. But some travelers have their hearts set on bicycling past a close-view of such a farm, or even a farm that allows you to enter their commercial growing area - which is less common.

Posted by
33764 posts

different flowers bloom at different times - some trees here in England are already in bloom. Dahlias are good in the Septembers. Pretty much from the end of frost to the beginning of frost something will be in bloom everywhere, though I don't know the schedules for China. South of the equator the rule of frost to frost is still correct but the seasons are reversed.

So no, flowery areas are not only flowery in April. Is that the way it is where you are?

Posted by
700 posts

Thank you for your responses to my somewhat poorly eorddd question.

Posted by
4183 posts

Another possible place to see bulb flowers similar to, but not as fancy or as impressive as Keukenhof, is the Skagit Valley in Washington. From the dates you can see that the timing of the Tulip Festival there is roughly the same as for Keukenhof. Here's the link: https://tulipfestival.org/

I've been to both. The accessibility to the fields is significantly easier in the Skagit Valley where the flowers are also grown for the bulbs. One time at a hotel near those fields my husband and I struck up a conversation with a Dutch guy in the bar. It turned out that his company grew bulbs there.

That was over 20 years ago. At that time there were very limited displays by the growers. If you go to the link you can see that there are now four, the one most similar to Keukenhof being RoozenGaarde.

I've been to Keukenhof twice and watched the parade twice. Both times it was too early and too cold for there to be many tulips in the incredible botanical garden that is Keukenhof. However, the gigantic greenhouses were amazing. There were lots of examples of different kinds and colors of tulips. There were also several greenhouses filled with other kinds of flowers. The exterior planted gardens are as beautiful as the Keukenhof website pictures promise: https://keukenhof.nl/en/

The parade this year will be on Saturday, April 20th. It's very enjoyable, like a small town event, even with marching bands, where you can just stand along the narrow roads of the parade route to watch it pass by. The closer you are to any grandstands, and especially to Lisse and Keukenhof itself, the more crowded it will be. Both times I watched it, I was able to park and stand near where the route makes a sharp turn left and heads toward Sassenheim. Even if the floats don't have many tulips, they are beautiful and their scents, due to the common use of hyacinths, is intoxicating. Here's a link about Bloemencorso Bollenstreek that includes pictures and the route: https://bloemencorso-bollenstreek.nl/en/programma/

I've only been in the Netherlands in the spring and summer, so I can't speak from personal experience, but based on what I've read, the autumn is also beautiful and I'd love to go then. Who knew they had moors with purple heather blooming or that the fall colors would be so stunning?

If the natural world of the Hoge Veluwe National Park (in any season) is intriguing, here's a link to it: https://www.hogeveluwe.nl/en

And to see Dutch life in the past, the Open Air Museum in Arnhem and near Veluwe would also be good anytime of year except maybe mid-February to the end of March: https://www.openluchtmuseum.nl/