Hortus Bulborum Museum Garden

[Armin]

The Hortus Bulborum in Limmen, NL, is the only museum garden in the world where you can find over 4,200 spring-flowering historical bulbs...
It was established 1928 and this collection consists primarily of tulips, narcissus and hyacinths, but there is also a small number of fritillaria and crocus.

Last weekend my wife and I revisited this fantastic location with good Dutch friends...

Here are some impressions for warming up...

Link Hortus Bulborum http://www.hortus-bulborum.nl/english

[Gerdk]

Armin,
What a fireworks of colours! Well worth a visit!
Thank you for showing it.

Gerd

[Gail]

Wow!  Looks fascinating - a forum visit next year perhaps....

[David Nicholson]

More please Armin?

[art600]

Yes please 

[Armin]

Thanks for the comments. I can recommend a visit.

Here's the next batch...
Hyacinths. If only the PC could reproduce the intense sweet fragrance whiffing over when you come close or pass by a hyacinth field.
This is something special when you visit South-or North of Holland now.
My visit was not focused on the hyacinths but after having seen the high number of cultivars, forms and colors it could become another passion.

Interesting the H. orientalis beds in blue and white.
There were many other colors, different in size and shape, semi-filled flowers ect.
My personal eye-catcher were cv. Kronos (1982) with the darkest blue of all, the most reddish old cv. Distinction (1880), and an unusual color cv. Miss Saigon (2002).

[Maggi Young]

Oh! I see Vroni and Luit 

[Armin]

Morning Maggi,

you must have either sharp eyes or an extra wide sceen
Well done!

[ashley]

Thanks for a fascinating report Armin

Kronos reminds me of an unknown favourite in my garden with stem and floret bases almost black. 
Great too to see the multiflorus types which seem to be under-appreciated, at least on the off-shore islands

[Armin]

Next images are Narcissus. There are about 1000 admiring cultivars and species in this garden.

They are now in the 3 year growing on the same place. After this season all bulbs will be lifted and planted on another field in autuum according to an official.
I saw this field already in 2009 when I visited Hortus Bulborum the first time - they have nicely clumped up since then.

What amazed and excited me most is the growing height and size - 60 cm and more is normal!
In my garden the same cultivars may reach 30% less at a maximum.
This fabulous growth is a combination of climate (cool sea climate), soil (fine sand), moist (high water level in spring) and excellent fertilizer regime, knowledge of best growing.

It was impossible to walk through the paths without damaging the flowers - so I kept off and took pictures from outside.  
What attract me where the small cuped ones (flower-Ø 7cm!). Crenver (introduced before 1927), Firetail (<1910) and N. poeticus 'Ornatus Max.'

[Armin]

Thanks for a fascinating report Armin

Kronos reminds me of an unknown favourite in my garden with stem and floret bases almost black. 
Great too to see the multiflorus types which seem to be under-appreciated, at least on the off-shore islands

Ashley,
the amount of cultivars is amazing in this garden. One could spent hours just for the lovely hyacinths
It was impossible to take photos of them all
Hope your unkown is Kronos - it is really dark blue. The camera does not reproduce the colors 100%.

[arillady]

Armin
So many places to visit if I had the means. The photos in this thread are utterly mind boggling.

[Lvandelft]

Morning Maggi,

you must have either sharp eyes or an extra wide sceen
Well done!

I am not so sure about that? She missed Barbara 

[Armin]

Pat, I'm pleased you like the images.

The next batch of images concentrates on Tulips:

1593 botanist Carolus Clusius planted a handful of tulip bulbs in a small garden at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
The act is considered by the Dutch as the birth of their famous flower business.

The historical 'Duc van Tol' -tiny single flowering early tulips- go back to the year 1595. I show you the old red and yellow versions as represenatives of the pioneering times...

I hoped to see again the gorgeous T. clusiana cultivars in flower but most were still in bud stage. Only a view, one with dark anthers, cv. 'Persica' is lovely in my eyes. The second one, still nameless, has just a number. It resembles a short and compact growing red/white T. clusiana.
Unfortunately I missed to ask about its background - breeding result or new find, I don't know. Maybe one of forum member knows more about it.

[Armin]

Morning Maggi,
you must have either sharp eyes or an extra wide sceen
Well done!

I am not so sure about that? She missed Barbara 

Luit, the 'grand dame' prefers to stay in the background