Sunday, March 6, 2011

The Netherlands in May

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At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose
upon the landscape. Vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up
A glorious patchwork. Yet far from being a child’s sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern Netherlands in the middle of tulip season. The Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope
of color as the tulips burst into life. The bulbs are planted in late October and early November. More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany .
Their dazzling colors are thanks to the years in the 17th century when tulip mania swept the
globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune. But like a
Rainbow, this colorful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon. When the flowers are gone,
the land will be cultivated for a rather more mundane crop of vegetables. The Netherlands
produce more than nine million bulbs a year.

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