PARADISE ON EARTH - KEUKENHOF - THE MECCA OF TULIPS - OPEN VIRTUALLY THIS YEAR

 

KEUKENHOF: PARADISE ON EARTH

(Photographs from my 2019 Visit to Keukenhof)

 

For the 2021 Keukenhof Virtual Tour Please see:

 

Welcome virtual visitor! | Keukenhof 2021🌷 - YouTube

 

 

        As the bus wound its way towards KEUKENHOF, in the heart of Holland’s tulip land, a spectacular sight unfolded, stretching for miles on-end were tulips in vibrant rainbow colors – pink, yellow, red, white, orange and much more. Then came the road sign “PANORAMA – TULIP LAND”, and I knew I had reached “Paradise on earth”. Willkommen (Welcome) to KEUKENHOF -The most beautiful spring garden in the world.

        Just imagine, a historic parkland of 32 hectares (about 80 acres) brimming with flowering tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and all the other spring bulbs; a staggering 7 million in all, including an astonishing 600 different varieties of tulips. A feast for your eyes, and in the midst of all this overwhelming display of colour: objects of art, special theme pavilions and events to celebrate the spring season. Keukenhof is an overwhelming experience for people of all ages. For keen gardeners and for people who simply enjoy a day out.

 

A lucky coincidence - The Tulips in the Pic are named Mrs. Scheeper's and as luck would have it the lady in the Pic was - A Mrs. Scheeper's, who happened to pass by and I got her to Pose with the Tulip with her namesake.

The Beginning:

         Keukenhof is located in South Holland, between the towns of Hillegom and Lisse, south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam. The name Keukenhof - literally means “Kitchen Garden”. In 1850 Zocher, a landscape architect from Haarlem made the original design for the garden.

It was the then mayor of Lisse, a small town south of Amsterdam who thought of having a flower exhibition where growers from all over the Netherlands and Europe could show off their hybrid tulips; this was back in 1949.

 

       

Keukenhof:

The total area of the park measures 32 hectares, that’s about 80 acres, and every year 7 million flower bulbs are planted, of these there are 600 different varieties of tulips, and other varieties of flowers such as, hyacinths, narcissi and crocus. The method adopted for planting is the multi layer type, this means that different kinds of bulbs are planted in layers and will bloom on the same spot alternatively in Spring. The bulbs are supplied by 90 bulb growers all from the Netherlands, the so-called Court Suppliers.

        The park has an amazing 15 kilometers of walking paths and along the entire length of thes paths, strips of turf grass are laid out and tulips are arranged in different patterns and themes.

You’ll see Marilyn and Rambo and meet Prof Rontgen; then there’s Rembrandt’s favourites and mine too. There are Red lips and Valentine’s; Blusing ladies and Mistresses; Fancy frills and Foxtrot, all names of TULIPS of course.

                             

        Among the many varieties of tulips on show, encompassing the whole colour specturm; were an astounding variety of colour combinations - there were the reds and the whites appropriately named Flaming Parrot; the fiery red and yellows aptly called Rambo. The new varieties included the dark lilac almost black looking – Queen of the night Tulip, it is the most sought after and photographed tulip at Keukenhof.

Ms.Annemarie M.M. Gerards-Adriaansens – Keukenhof’s Public Relations Manager informed me that the total staff at Keukenhof is 40, consisting of 30 dedicated gardner’s and 10 administrative staff.  She said, “Planting of the tulip bulbs begins sometime between September and December so as to have the tulips in full bloom around the third week of March”.

It is time for me to head back home, one last glance as the sunsets and I know I must come back again and again. The tulips at Keukenhof have an enchanting hold on you.

Alas, this year’s Tulip Show – Keukenhof 2021 is online, please enjoy the Virtual Tours provided everyday on the official website:

 

http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html

 

Video by Sharath Ahuja:

KEUKENHOF PARADISE ON EARTH - YouTube

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SUMMER BLOOMS IN NAMMA OORU BENGALURU

 

SUMMER BLOOMS IN NAMMA OORU BENGALURU

“Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.”– Luther Burbank

 

“Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower.”– John Harrigan

 

“What a lonely place it would be to have a world without a wildflower!”– Roland R. Kemler

 

“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”– Walter Hagen

“Live life in full bloom.”– Unknown

“Earth laughs in flowers.”– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Every flower blooms at its own pace.”– Suzy Kassem

“A flower is a smile from heaven.”– Unknown

“Do something today that will encourage you to blossom.”– Unknown

 

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AMAZING NATURE - THE FLOWERS OF THE CANNONBALL TREE

 

AMAZING NATURE

THE FLOWERS OF THE CANNONBALL TREE

NAGALINGA PUSHPA

Botanical Name: Couroupita guianensis

 

Currently blooming in Namma Ooru Bengaluru are the Stunning flowers of the Cannon Ball Tree colloquially called “The Nagalinga Pushpa” Flowers.

 

The Shiva Linga; The Snake Hood and the Lotus base:

          A rarity in nature are the flowers of the Cannon Ball tree, no other flower bears such a striking resemblance a stunning formation of the Stigma, Stamen and Petals.

             The Stamens of the flower seem to represent the 1000-headed Cobra Snake in Hindu Mythology, protecting the Shivalinga - the Stigma, surrounded by pink or red petals that resemble the Lotus.

            The tree was named Couroupita guianensis by the French botanist Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet in 1755.

          Hindus revere it as a sacred tree because the petals of the flower resemble the hood of the Naga, a sacred snake, protecting a Shiva Lingam, the stigma. 

          The Flowers are large, up to 6 cm wide and brightly colored, there are six petals in shades of orange, pink and red. The ring of stamens at the center arch upwards and look like a snake’s hood.

         During peak, blooming season the entire tree trunk is buried in strongly scented flowers and is a remarkable sight.

          Another oddity are the fruits of this tree, which resemble a cannonball. They fruit is spherical with a hard brown woody shell and reach diameters up to 25 centimeters or about 10 inches, giving the species the name Cannoball tree.

         The tree grows to a height of up to 25 meters or approximately 110 feet.

         The Cannonball Tree is native to the rain forests of Guiana. In India, the tree introduced from South America has been adopted as sacred to Hindus, who believe its hooded flowers look like the nāga, and it is grown near Shiva temples.

 

• Bengali: নাগলিঙ্গম nagalingam • Gujarati: કૈલાસપતિ kailaspati, શિવલીંગી shivalingi • Hindi: नागलिंगम् nagalingam, तोप गोला toap gola • Kannada: ಲಿಂಗದ ಹೂವಿನಮರ lingada hoovinamara, ನಾಗಲಿಂಗ ಪುಷ್ಪ ಮರ nagalinga pushpa mara • Malayalam: നാഗലിംഗം nagalingam • Marathi: कैलासपती kailasapati, नागलिंगम वृक्ष nagalingam vrksa • Odia: ନାଗକେଶର nagakesara, ନାଗେଶ୍ୱର nageshwara, ନାଗଲିଙ୍ଗ nagalinga • Tamil: நாகலிங்கம் nagalingam • Telugu: నాగలింగ nagalinga, శివలింగపుష్పం shivalingapushpam • Tulu: ನಾಗಲಿಂಗ nagalinga 

 

 

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THE SPECTACULAR BRONZE SHOWER TREE IN THE IISc CAMPUS

 

THE BRONZE SHOWER TREE

(BOTANICAL NAME: Cassia moschata)

IN THE CAMPUS

OF THE

 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

BANGALORE

 

HERALDING THE ONSET OF SUMMER

THE BRONZE SHOWER TREE (BOTANICAL NAME: Cassia moschata)

IISc Campus, Bangalore.

                           

 

The 400 acre wooded campus of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore is a “Botanist’s Delight”, with over 800 species of flowering plants and trees blooming around the year. The lush green vegetation, the stunning range of flowers and a variety of birds and butterflies has rendered the campus a dream setting for nature enthusiasts and conservationists.

                                    Aerial View of the Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore

It was Mr. German Botanist and Garden Designer G.H. Krumbiegel, the then Superintendent of the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, who was initially involved in landscaping the campus. There were several others after him who continued his legacy and one among them was B S Nirody, who was also largely responsible for transforming the campus to what it is today.

Today the campus is an astonishingly beautiful lush-green oasis, with its own distinctive microclimate and ambience, thanks to the landscape architects of yesteryears and to their abiding love for plants. An in-house nursery and garden with a dedicated team of gardeners maintains and nurtures the green oasis.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), often called the Tata Institute, after its benefactor and founder Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, by local residents, is one of Bangalore’s enduring landmarks. The lush green vegetation of the campus provides the Institute with an environment, which is the envy of those who reside in the midst of the urban chaos that characterizes Bangalore today.

                             The Tata Statue and Memorial at IISc. Photo Courtesy Dr. K Sankara Rao

The Institute has grown over a century on a large tract of land (now about 400 acres), gifted by the then Maharaja of Mysore, His Highness Shri Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, in March 1907. The Institute formally came into existence on 27 May 1909 when the British Government issued the Vesting Order. The lush greenery of today, which has come to be the Institute’s characteristic feature, is the result of planting and nurturing by generations of lovers of nature. In fact, the campus of the Indian Institute of Science is among the oldest and the largest preserves of the botanical wealth of Bangalore.

                                THE BRONZE SHOWER TREE at IISc

Currently blooming in the Campus is this showy handsome tree – The Bronze Shower Tree, Botanical Name: Cassica moschata, with a spectacular display of brilliant orange-copper-yellow cascade of flowers in long pendants. Appropriately named the BRONZE SHOWER TREE.

Probably the only Bronze Shower Tree in the entire campus.

Located in the Eastern Side of the IISc Main Building.

 

 

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