Hortus Bulborum still searching for old bulb varieties
‘Anastasia’ to ‘Grand Cru Vacqueyras’

In order to further enlarge its collection of spring bulbs, the Hortus Bulborum regularly makes an appeal for older varieties of bulbs. This tradition has produced good results for the Hortus foundation. The tulip collection alone grew from 1760 varieties in 2005 to more than 2500 cultivars and species in 2009. Nevertheless, the bulb treasure trove will continue its search for more historical varieties.

The collection of the museum garden currently holds just under 4000 species and cultivars of the groups Tulipa, Narcissus, Hyacinthus orientalis, Fritillaria, Crocus vernus and Crocus chrysanthus, and other minor bulbs. The Tulipa and Crocus vernus collections are considered to be the National Plant Collection for their genera. The entire collection is among the various Dutch plant collections the most unique and documented collection of spring bulbs.

Gene bank
It is due to the initiative of Pieter Boschman in 1924 and continued by many others since then that numerous varieties have been saved for posterity. It would have been a loss forever if these exquisite plants would have been allowed to disappear. And this would have occurred with an increasingly growing interest in this type of historical plant material on the part of estate owners, supervisors of country places and conservators of castle and palace gardens. Palace Het Loo has set a good example since its garden was restored in the 1980s. And the Hortus is not only a collection of historical varieties but also a limited supply source for historical tulip varieties. But most significantly the Hortus foundation collection is a gene bank for hybridizers.

Disappearance
But it still happens often enough that when board members or tour leaders are talking with a colleague or former colleague or someone else yet that they hear something like: “Oh, were you looking for that one? I was still growing it until about a year ago but nobody seemed interested. Wish I had known earlier”. Or a crate or two of bulbs remain in a corner of a barn somewhere and are overlooked at planting time. “It was old junk, after all.” In spite of the existence of the Hortus Bulborum, special and legendary cultivars still disappear on a regular basis.

Four qualifications
The Foundation is interested especially in cultivars of the four most important groups: tulips, narcissus, hyacinths and Fritillaria.

From the sixteenth century until now
The mission of the Hortus Bulborum Foundation is not just to save very old bulbs. There is also the goal to present a complete picture of the development of the tulip and other bulb species from the moment they were introduced in the Netherlands, such as the late 16th century ‘Duc van Tol Red and Yellow’, Narcissus ‘Roman Double’ and Fritillaria persica, to bulbs in existence today. For some, the tulip in grandpa’s garden is old, while for others the concept applies to venerable varieties more than a hundred years old.

Cairo to Batavia
An extensive inventory this past year was the reason for this year’s long wish list. A few varieties and species are listed to expand the Hortus’ current holdings. Among others, the list includes the parrot tulip ‘Bird of Paradise’, ‘ Blondine’, ‘ Diana Ross’, ‘Onedin’ and ‘White Parrot’. The “missing” Triumph tulip list is considerably longer, including ‘Anastasia’, ‘ Atilla Elite’, ‘Cairo’, ‘Cream’, ‘Francess Bremer’, ‘Funny Girl’, ‘Gold Beryl’, ‘Golden Fiction’, ‘Jan Reus’. ‘Martine Bijl’, ‘Perfection’, ‘Purple World’, ’ Recreado’, ‘ Sjakamaro’, ‘Stargazer’, ‘Superstar’, ‘ Sweetest Spring ’, ‘The Mounties’ and ‘ Wibo’. On the wish list for lily-flowered tulips are ‘China Pink’, ‘Flashback’, ‘Lilyfire’, ‘Mariette’ and ‘White Elegance’. Also the Hortus would like to acquire small quantities of ‘Batavia’ and ‘Grand Cru Vacqueyras’ (the second not a fine grand cru wine but both single late tulips) and viridiflora tulips ‘Deirdre’ and ‘Humming Bird’.

Call or mail
Should you have one or several varieties which may be of interest to the Hortus, please do let us know. You do not have to do anything else. One of the board members or a volunteer will stop by for a small quantity of bulbs if the variety is appropriate for the collection. For more information please send an email to info@hortus-bulborum.nl or call secretary-conservator Joop Zonneveld, T 0251 231 286 or Cell 06 53 83 17 15.

Harvesting of bulbs in the traditional manner
Hortus in Limmen still harvests by hand

Bulb growers are extremely busy again right now. In the next several weeks all bulbs must be harvested from the fields. Many bulb farms use machine harvesting, but at the Hortus Bulborum the task is still accomplished by hand, on the knees in the sand, and with traditional tools, as bulb farmers have done for centuries.

Many of the volunteers at the Hortus are former bulb farmers themselves and traditional harvesting is an accomplished skill for them. This year the crew includes Joop Zonneveld and Herman Neelissen, but the team possibly will be smaller this year than in the past. With 65 being the average age of these volunteers, the more advanced years and physical infirmities of the potential team members play a part after all. But the smaller team will not be a major obstacle to getting the harvest done. Last year the narcissus collection was moved to a new location where it can stay in place for now. This eliminates 1000 varieties, with a number of bulbs for each variety. But it still leaves plenty of bulbs to harvest: the 140 different hyacinths, 96 crocus varieties and at least 2343 various tulip cultivars. And not even included in this count are the Rembrandt tulip collection, all of the approximately 124 varieties of the trade collection, and the collection of unusual Fritillaria imperialis.

Photo: Max Nuyens

Quality
Granted that it is a time-consuming task to harvest 10,000 bulbs by hand in this day and age. But it quite definitely benefits the bulbs because there are fewer bulb injuries and almost no “sick” bulbs left by accident in the finished batches. It is anticipated that the harvesting will take a small work week’s time, spread over two periods of two or three days. Contingent on the weather the work will start on Monday June 22. The second period will be scheduled for the last week in June. The Hortus board expects a normal to good harvest. About three weeks ago the tulips suffered from a period with a dry east-northeast wind combined with low humidity in the air. If this had not occurred there would have been a top yield according to secretary and conservator Zonneveld. When the harvesting is completed the bulbs are brought to the storage facilities of Th. Apeldoorn in Egmond-Binnen, the company of Hortus President Piet Apeldoorn, his brother Jan and their sons. Here the bulbs will be dried for about a week. Next the bulbs will be taken to Proeftuin Zwaagdijk where they will be processed and graded.

Palace Het Loo
Each year the trade collection finds its way to several specialty sales points and export houses such as P.C. Nijssen and Van Tubergen in Heemstede, as well as Present Garden in Hillegom. In addition, historical gardens in The Netherlands, among them Palace Het Loo, and exclusive garden centres and export houses in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the U.S. are among the steady clients.

Welcome
Although the garden officially is closed, passersby are very welcome to come take a look at the practice of traditional bulb harvesting. Because the main entrance is closed, you may gain access to the garden via the gate around the corner on School Lane, on the left at the end of Zuidkerkenlaan.
(June 19, 2009)

Hortus Bulborum not disappointed with spring
2009 Season Review

Despite the recent financial downturn and its effects on reducing the number of foreign visitors, especially those from the US and the Far East, the Limmen garden museum has no complaints about the recently completed season. While the number of visitors was somewhat lower during the cold first few weeks of the season, the income generated by entrance fees and sales in both the bulb barn and the entrance booth was higher than last year. This was also due, in part, to the expanded assortment of items offered for sale.

Even before the season was officially started, the unique floral beauty of the Limmen garden was featured in its full glory beneath the chandeliers of the salons of the Sinebrychoff Art Museum, the National Gallery in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. During the stunning exhibit on tulipmania with live historical cultivars on display to create a mini-hortus, Leslie Leijenhorst, the pr consultant of the foundation, gave a lecture which was well-attended and drew much media attention. It was a lively and international start of the season.

Rabobank
A few weeks later, the garden season began in earnest on the traditional date of April 6. Dick Oosthoek, director of Rabobank’s Horticulture and Arable Farming division, gave the opening ceremony address. In his speech he not only reviewed the currently difficult situation of the bulb industry, but he also expressed amazement that the Hortus Bulborum has prospered since the beginnings of its 80 year existence without regular financial support from the bulb sector. And this occurred while it was always obvious that the Hortus was a garden to be promoted and to supported.

Paris
Although Mother Nature did not show her best side during the season’s first two weeks of sunny but blustery weather, there were plenty of visitors, and many repeat visits. The CDA political faction (Christian Democrats) of the municipal governing board of CAL came to visit as did various groups and film crews under the leadership of the IBC staff in Hillegom. The IBC came at least twice. At the suggestion of Laurent Lieser, curator of the French national collection of botanical tulips, a three-man crew from French TV channel 3 travelled to the Low Countries accompanied by Pierre Bonnaure, the supervisor of the Palais Royal and Tuileries gardens in Paris. He provided the commentary for a program on André Le Nôtre which will be broadcast in October. Le Nôtre is the well-known garden designer who masterminded the Versailles gardens and who used many tulips in his designs. Bonnaure was impressed with the comprehensive collection of the Hortus and he very likely will order a good number of unusual varieties for his gardens. And as before there were also the large number of visitors from Northern Europe.

Capricious weather
Because of the late spring it was possible for the first time in a long time to enjoy viewing narcissus at the same time as the earliest tulip groups and hyacinths. It is unfortunate that the Limmen Flowerdays once again took place almost two weeks later than normal. Because of this delay visitors ordinarily miss the height of the flower display at the Hortus that usually occurs during the last week of April and the first week of May.

Photography exhibit
Following last year’s successful ‘plein air’ painting days and the subsequent exhibit in the small neighboring Protestant church there was once again an activity which combined flowers and botany. It was a photography contest, with again an exhibit in the church, this time combined with the one –woman show of the North-Holland artist Cora Niele. It has already been decided that another artistic event will be held next year that once more will involve the garden as well as the little church.
(June 15, 2009)

Hortus Bulborum Photography Exhibit
Entries of exceptional quality

During the month of April the bulb garden museum in Limmen held a photography contest on its grounds. At the conclusion of the contest the submitted photographs were exhibited at the small Protestant church in Limmen. Several of the entries showed remarkable quality. The organizing committee had announced three guidelines for the entries: close-ups, landscapes and the artistic interpretation of a bulb flower. There were just under forty participants who submitted approx. sixty entries. Some of these were simple snapshots while others were true pieces of art. The number of participants could have been larger but then the limited exhibit space in the church would have been completely filled. First prize was won by Rina Bredie from St. Pancras who received 45 euro and a set of bookmarkers recognizing the 80th anniversary of the Hortus in 2008.

Photo: Rina Bredie, 1st price winner

Photo: Gert A. Dekker 2nd price winner

Bredie had photographed several waterlily-shaped Kaufmanniana tulips ‘Johann Strauss Flamed’ from the ground up to show bright sunlight through the flamed calyces against a deep blue spring sky. “Painting with the camera,”wrote photographer Philip Friskorn, the professional member of the jury, in his notes on this entry. A photograph by Tini Nuyens received honourable mention in recognition of the high quality of many of the photographs in this category. She had photographed a purple-white Rembrandt tulip and all its details with much artistry.

Little Lane
The category Landscape proved to be quite challenging for the contestants. It was and remains a feat to record the classic picture of a brightly-colored quilt of flower beds with the little church in the background in an innovative manner or to reflect the garden in such a way that it continues to provoke interest. Often the light or the sky in the photographs was not pleasing. Two entries were clearly superior to the others. One showed the church with a field of tulips in the foreground and a pitch -black sky up above, as if it were Judgement Day. The other entry showed the Jan Tuijn path with strong lines and many fine details to show a distinctively different view of the Hortus Bulborum. A fluttering flag added an extra-Dutch flavor. This picture by Gert Dekker of Valkkoog was awarded the second prize. As former board member of the Hortus, Dekker was involved for many years with photographing the garden’s collection. The ‘Judgement Day’ by I. Goulag of Castricum received honourable mention.

Botanical tulip
The third prize was awarded to H.M. Hollander, also of Castricum, not for a picture of a tulip cultivar but for a beautiful close-up of a botanical tulip. While to succeed with a photograph of a white flower is already an achievement, the defined outline of leaf, pistil and stamens as well as the beautiful contrast between pure white, warm yellow and deep black made for an elegant composition. In addition to the entries from the enthusiastic amateur photographers there was also a one-woman show by North-Holland photographer Cora Niele on display in the small church. All participants received a lasting memento of the Limmen garden.The exhibit had good attendance. On Sunday afternoon only already over 200 visitors stopped by to view the photographs.
(May 3, 2009)

Hortus Bulborum has leading role in French TV programme
In the footsteps of Andre Le Nôtre

On April 29 a television film team of four were present in the garden of the Hortus Bulborum. They were filming for a TV magazine which covers the work of the famous French garden and landscape designer André Le Nôtre (1613-1700). He designed the famous gardens of Versailles, Southwest of Paris and the gardens of Chantilly, North of Paris. Le Nôtre also designed St. James’s Park in the London borough of Westminster. Among those present in the garden was Pierre Bonnaure, supervisor of the gardens of the Louvre and the Tuileries gardens in Paris. He came along on this trip to add commentaries for the proposed programme which will be shown on French TV in the fall of this year.

Photo: Musée du Louvre / DR

Joop Zonneveld, the conservator and secretary of the Hortus Foundation, accompanied the French film team and answered many questions about the creation of the garden, the famous Rembrandt tulips with their exquisite feather and flame patterns, and many other interesting bulb facts. Garden supervisor Bonnaure was quite impressed with the very large collection of the various bulb genera. He was enchanted by the tulips and like many others before him he wanted to “adopt” a few of them. He asked Leslie Leijenhorst who had interviewed him briefly if several of his favorites were still available. Walking back from the large collection of Rembrandt tulips at the far end of the garden he suggested ‘Insulinde’ (1915) as his choice. Sorry, but this one was already adopted, in fact by his interviewer. ‘Zomerschoon’ (1620) and surviving from the tulipmania period of the 17th century? Also already adopted.

Des tulipes
How about a few narcissus then? “Non, des tulipes” he said resolutely. He mentioned a few representatives of the exotic parrot tulip group. The ‘Admiral de Constantinople’ (1665, just the name alone will appeal to a Frenchman), or a ‘Margraaf van Baaden’(1750), a ‘Perfecta’ (1680) or ‘Quasimodo’(1984)… all were still available, and each one a true jewel from the collection of the Limmen garden. The board of the Foundation would have no problem with these good intentions, for the more adoption parents there are the better it would be. And in order to adopt a particular bulb one does not have to be the boss of a green oasis in one of the world’s big cities. Ordinary folk may also adopt a tulip, a narcissus or hyacinth. Possibly named for a man, a woman, mother or …a grandfather who raised a particular tulip. For more information, please see www.hortus-bulborum.nl

Own plant collection
But the French garden supervisor also came away with much inspiration to enlarge his plant collection at the former royal gardens at some point. This was not the first time that the Hortus was featured in the French press. About two years ago the garden received much attention from Le Figaro, one of France’s foremost papers.
(April 29, 2009)

Beautiful tulip note cards for a good cause
Commendable initiative by artist Tineke Kramer-Pijnappel

Tineke Kramer-Pijnappel is no stranger to the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen nor to the surrounding region. In 2008 for the art-on-pedestal initiative in the CAL municipality (Castricum-Akersloot-Limmen) she loaned a bronze tulip bulb sculpture to the Hortus. The piece has a prominent spot on the lawn area in front of the booth at the garden entrance. There it is visible throughout the year to passersby from the parking lot near the garden or the nearby church cemetery.

Photo: Tineke Kramer-Pijnappel

Photo: Tineke Kramer-Pijnappel

The Limmen artist is inspired often by the region’s world famous bulbs. She produces three-dimensional as well as one-dimensional works in various media. Recently a regrettable situation was the source of inspiration. Last year Tineke was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has made good progress in the meantime. During her illness she received wonderful support from the Pink Ribbon Foundation. This organization provides information, sponsors research and gives support to women with breast cancer. She thought it would be lovely to name a tulip bulb for the foundation and then to draw or paint the tulip and donate the proceeds of the sales of these pieces of art to this foundation.

Pink Ribbon
Together with the International Flowerbulb Centre she searched for the perfect tulip. It turned out to be a deep pink Triumph tulip. Two growers were located with sufficient stock of the particular tulip. They were Mastenbroek in Goeree-Overflakkee and Timmer in Venhuizen. In October 2008 the tulip was officially baptized. Tineke painted the tulip in oil in some renditions and used botanical drawing technique with exquisite detailing for others. In order to bring the Pink Ribbon tulip to the attention of the public she decided to produce a series of six note cards in the A5 format. All cards show the tulip, singly or in groupings. Sales proceeds will go to the Pink Ribbon Foundation. The cards will cost 2,50 Euro each and are available at the Hortus Bulborum for the duration of the season.

Giclé
There are also prints available in a larger format and in other media, such as giclé, a professional print on canvas or fine art paper. Tineke Pijnappel anticipates that the number of retail shops where the cards will be available will increase quickly. Should you be interested in the Pink Ribbon note cards please get in touch with her (telephone 072 505 18 25) or visit her studio at Rijksweg 176 in Limmen.
(28 april 2009)

Hortus Bulborum bulbs now in bloom at Keukenhof
From ‘Artus’ to ‘Yellow Rose’

As has been the custom for some time now the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen each fall supplies bulbs to Keukenhof. Many years ago these bulbs were planted among the more modern types in one of the borders of this large flower park. There these occasionally frail plants often looked lost among the more robust modern varieties. For about a decade now they have been planted in a more suitable spot, i.e. the enclosed by walls Historical Garden.

Photo: Keukenhof

The Historical Garden recalls the days of old when many a castle or country estate had a walled garden where vegetables and espaliered fruits were grown. And here also were located the borders for hobby gardening and the beds of cutting flowers which provided the family of the estate with fresh flowers throughout the season. The Keukenhof Historical Garden has much atmosphere due to the attractive features of sturdy brick walls with rounded tops, heavy dark green entrance gates, nostalgic garden furniture, and borders surrounded by boxwood hedges. There are also pergolas with luxuriantly flowering wisteria, espaliered fruit trees against a wall and… a large number of antique bulbs and tuberous plants not usually available for purchase at most local garden centres.

Borders and beds
Each year the assortment of bulbs from the Hortus is varied although there is a definite attempt to supply an assortment of tulips from throughout the ages. Usually there are a few of the oldest cultivated tulips, the ‘Duc van Tol Red and Yellow’ dating from 1595 as well as a mixture of early and late tulips, from ‘Yellow Rose’ (1700) to ‘Artus’ (1860). For the 2009 seasons the Hortus sent last autumn extra bulbs in recognition of the 400th anniversary of the death in 1609 of Clusius (1526-1609), a famous doctor and botanist in the Europe of his day. Eight beds were designed to replicate the beds of the garden designed in 1590 by head gardener Clusius for the first academic garden in the country, now the Hortus Leiden. Also planted this year were special crocuses and rare types of narcissus and other familiar or rare spring bulbs listed in his books. The shipment this year consisted of more than 5,000 bulbs for both the geometric boxwood borders and the Clusius beds.

History class room
In spring 2009 the Historical Garden was set up as a true history class room where the public might learn about the development of many varieties of spring bulbs from the past. In addition to the tulip collection there are also a number of historical narcissus from specialist snow drop and narcissus grower Josephine Dekker of Oterleek, province of North Holland. She supplied the 18th and 19th century narcissus which were so extremely popular in Victorian England. The ‘classroom’ ambiance was created by means of nostalgic lignage and informational blackboards. Bilingual folders explain about the five part garden collection to be found inside these walls and the overview of how gardens looked in times past and how they look now. This new ‘house style’ was developed by Leslie Leijenhorst of Het Schrijflokaal in Arnhem who together with design group Simons & Boom, also from Arnhem, produced the uniquely informative and stylish design. The team previously developed several communication projects for the Hortus Bulborum, such as the well-received book markers recognizing the 80th anniversary of the Hortus in 2008.
(24 april 2009)

Closer ties with St. Adelbert Abbey
In union there is strength

The Hortus took on a new partner this season. With the thought of “In union there is strength” the St. Adelbert Abbey in Egmond and the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen have formed an informal partnership. On April 1, Hortus board members and partners together with Leslie Leijenhorst, pr consultant for the Hortus, made an orientation visit to the abbey. It was a pleasant and enlightening journey to this place of contemplative beauty, which through the ages has played an important role in the region..

The visit to the abbey had a purpose. Volunteers at the Hortus often have inquiries from the public, tour operators and sponsors of day trips about other interesting sites in the area to visit. Neither the Hortus nor the abbey warrants a complete day’s visit, so the management of both places put their heads together and opted to recommend each other’s facilities in answer to such inquiries. An interesting all-day trip would be to visit the Hortus in the morning, have lunch at the abbey and then visit the abbey’s idyllic cemetery, with its beautiful views of the surrounding countryside, the candle maker’s shop, and the combined gift and book store for religious and spiritual literature, reputed to be one of the largest in Europe. Information folders on St. Adelbert Abbey will be obtainable at the Hortus.

Benedictine
The history of the abbey goes back to the 10th century. Count Dirk founded the place of worship, in order that women might pray for the spiritual salvation of the noble family. One of the most important history volumes of the Middle Ages, the Egmond Annals, was gathered together at the abbey in the 12th century. Other important historical sources were saved from loss and obscurity by the monks of the Benedictine abbey. In 1573 the abbey suffered arson at the hand of the Beggars, the nobles and supporters rebelling against Spanish rule. For centuries the ruins of the abbey church and the nearby village church dominated the view of Egmond’s surroundings. In 1800 the last vestiges of the historical abbey were razed due to the dangerous condition of the buildings. It was not until the 20th century that the monastery was rebuilt. On August 23, 1935 monks from Oosterhout in the province of North Brabant moved into the new priory of St. Adelbert. In 1950 the now much-enlarged facility was designated officially as an abbey. .

Candle maker’s shop
The candle maker’s shop was begun in 1945. Today it produces an important source of income for the abbey. At first only Christmas candles were made but then the assortment expanded slowly. Nowadays candles are available for every occasion. And since a few years there is also a pottery studio. The successful sales of both the candles and pottery was the reason for the expansion of the abbey’s activities and thus came about the combined gift and religious book store, exhibition space for frequent shows, the abbey museum, and the Benedictushof, a hall available for hire for groups to hold conferences or spiritual gatherings..
(April 24, 2009)

Rabobank director opens new season at Hortus Bulborum
Dick Oosthoek, Manager of bank’s Akker-en Tuinbouw (Horticulture and Arable Farming) division

On April 6, Dick Oosthoek, Manager of the Horticulture and Arable Farming Division of the Rabobank Nederland, officially opened the new season at the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen, the world’s only historical spring bulbs museum. In his address Mr. Oosthoek compared the many similarities between the current and previous economic crises with the cycles in the livestock markets, and the resulting opportunities available for the bulb farming sector. He referred to the tulip mania of the seventeenth century and the craze of the 1990s, both the products of excessive greed.

It has been no secret that already for the last several years the Hortus has put good effort into attracting more visitors both from within the Netherlands and elsewhere to the spring bulbs museum. Similar to last year a number of activities for the public have been planned. One of those is a photography contest during the month of April, with a concluding exhibit in early May held in the small Dutch Reformed church next door.

Generous gift
In addition much has been done to provide more professional information and similar museum support services. Rabobank was again a donor. Thanks to the generous gift of this main sponsor, and a gift from the KAVB (Royal General Bulbgrowers’ Association) on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the garden in 2008, the Foundation was able to supply new name tags for the complete collection of more than 3800 cultivars and species. The design of the name tags showed the in-house style colours of dark and light green.

Museumshop corner
Thanks to another sponsor it was possible to renovate the bulb barn’s photo wall with photographs reproduced on a more durable surface. This improves the wall’s appearance and extends its longevity. The assortment of the corner museum shop in the combination bulb barn and information centre expanded considerably. In addition to the sale of a collection of summer bulbs which benefits the foundation directly there are a number of books about flowers, plant history and botanical art, some of which would be difficult to obtain elsewhere. Several popular novels about the tulip and its tumultuous history are available and also deluxe Danish hyacinth glasses.

Early blooming
Following the opening ceremony, refreshments were served and visitors had the opportunity to admire the early blooming varieties of the almost 4000 varieties now in the garden.
(April 8, 2009)

Photo contest
Exhibit takes place first days of May at church in Limmen

Following last year’s successful event the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen is organizing another special cultural happening this spring. While in 2008 it was a painting contest, with an accompanying exhibit at the small Dutch Reformed Church right next door to the garden, this year it will be a photography contest, with an exhibit again at the little church.

The contest’s general theme is the garden treasury of historical bulbs in Limmen and historical spring bulbs as a special focus. There are three categories for entries: 1/ the Hortus Bulborum in the landscape, 2/ close-ups of flowers, 3/ artistic interpretation or adaptation of the chosen subject. Participants may enter one photograph. The organizers are anticipating approx. 100 photographs. These must conform to the following specifications: the photographs must have been taken at the Hortus Bulborum, all entries must be presented with a maximum size of 30 X 45 cm and must be ready to be exhibited, including the frame and hook to hang. Entries should be brought to the church on Friday evening, May 1 between 7 and 8 PM. The pieces can be available for sale.

Cora Niele
In addition to the colorful entries submitted by the contest participants, there also will be a one-woman show by North-Holland photographer Cora Niele. Her themes will be flowers as well, in all their forms and aspects presented by the artist in her very focused and fascinating style. These pieces also will be available for sale. .

Jury
The jury will include Piet Apeldoorn, president of the Hortus Bulborum Foundation. Leslie Leijenhorst, the volunteer publicist and pr consultant of the Hortus, whose expertise as developer of communication materials has given him extensive experience with the assessment of photographic materials, and Philip Friskorn, a professional photographer. He not only produced “Treasures of the Hortus Bulborum”, the extensive collection of exquisite photographic note cards but also works on a regular basis for Natuurmonumenten, Staatsbosbeheer and the various Landschappen (all nature preservation organizations).

Three contest prizes
The exhibit is free and open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3, at the church on Zuidkerkenlaan in Limmen. Saturday hours are from 10 AM to 5 PM and on Sunday from 12 Noon to 5 PM. Regular entrance fees will be charged for visits to the Hortus. Three contest prizes will be awarded on Saturday, May 2 at 10 AM. All participants will receive a lasting memento from the Limmen foundation. For more information and registration material please contact pr board member Max Nuyens, tel. 06 53 40 02 65, email: m.j.nuyens@hetnet.nl
(April 2, 2009)

Hortus Bulborum blooms at Sinebrychoff Art Museum
Old varieties in elegant rooms in Finnish National Gallery

From March 17 till 22, 2009, the Sinebrychoff Art Museum in Helsinki will host for the first time in Finland an exuberant display of historical tulips and narcissi, Tulppaanien lumo (Spellbound by tulips). While normally a venerable temple of art were artistic representations of flowers are on display in the form of paintings, drawings or sculpture, the museum will exhibit the captivating flowers in full bloom in the museum’s yellow salon which is rarely open to the public, with the display also extending to the museum’s 2nd floor exhibition area. The old tulips were supplied by the Hortus Bulborum, the unique Dutch garden museum collection of historic spring bulbs, the historic daffodils by the only female daffodil grower of unique narcissi varieties and cultivars in The Netherlands, Josephine Dekker.

At Tulppaanien lumo over 50 heirloom tulips and historical narcissi will be shown in simple, old-fashioned pots. Unique documents on the history of the tulip in Finland will be on display also, including pieces that have been exhibited in public only rarely before. On Wednesday, March 18 at 4 o’clock Mr. Leslie Leijenhorst, historian of the Hortus Bulborum and the garden’s whirlwind pr person, will lecture on historical bulbs. As the ambassadeur extraordinaire for this hortus he gives an ever-increasing number of presentations in his native country as well as in Scandinavia. In fall 2009 he will give lectures at various historic venues in the Ivy League states of the USA, primarily botanical gardens and historic mansions.

Photo: Maria Schulgin

Summer Beauty
A unique note card series - Treasures from the Hortus Bulborum - will be available for sale during the exhibition. The cards show exquisite photographs of historic tulips and daffodils and carry short anecdotes in English with cultural or botanical information on the back side. Included are such tulips as Zomerschoon (Summer Beauty, 1620), a legendary tulip of the Tulipmania period and still alive, a number of historic daffodils first described by the famous botanist Carolus Clusius who in 1590 started the first botanical garden in The Netherlands, as well as the oldest in the card series to date, Galanthus nivalis (the traditional snowdrop, 1500). The official history of the garden, Hortus Bulborum, treasury of historical bulbs (bi-lingual and lavishly illustrated with historical paintings and drawings), authored by Leijenhorst, may be purchased also.

The exhibition is produced by Villi Niitty, in cooperation with the Sinebrychoff Art Museum, University of Helsinki and the Netherlands Embassy.

Tulppaanien lumo (Spellbound by tulips), 17-22.3.2009, Sinebrychoff Art Museum, Bulevardi 40, FIN-00120 Helsinki, T +358(0)917336460, I www.sinebrychoffintaidemuseo.fi

Lecture (in English): Hortus Bulborum, treasure trove of historic bulbs - History, art of collecting and contemporary use of heirloom bulbs by Leslie Leijenhorst, Sinebrychoff Art Museum, March 18, 2009, at 4 p.m.
(March 2, 2009)

Hortus Bulborum featured twice in tear-off calendar
Unique historical calendar

The Hortus Bulborum is featured twice in the Historical tear-off calendar for 2009, a publication of Veen Publishers in Rotterdam. The calendar has been produced for several years already, each time by a different editorial board.

As with the other well-known tear-off calendars, such as the one by Loesje, this calendar also has a question or anecdote on each day’s page. Loesje is known in the Netherlands for the simple white posters, maps and other communication devices with short, to-the-point, sometimes critical, sometimes humorous commentaries or observations, printed with black lettering, covering affairs of the world, with many of them pertaining to the Netherlands. It is a humorous attempt to participate in societal communication. Many volunteers participate with the distribution of the posters in order to bring these messages to the attention of the people.

Questions, anecdotes and answers
On the front of the poster is the citation, anecdote, question or the listing of a particular historical day, with the answer or information on the reverse side. Some of the pages refer to a museum or other noteworthy historic site.

Antipode glass
The Hortus Bulborum is represented on two pages. The first is on the page for April 11, 2009, and one on the page for May 2, both listed as historical side trips. The one contribution pertains to the famous botanist Carolus Clusius, the first prefect of the earliest botanical garden in the Netherlands, the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden. Clusius raised the tulip that is considered to be the first tulip cultivated in the Low Countries. Dating from 1595, this tulip is the Duc van Tol Red and Yellow which blooms during the first few weeks of the season. It is still grows in large numbers in the museum garden on the Zuidkerkenlaan in Limmen. The other contribution describes the antipodean vase, a curious and sturdy French glass hyacinth vase. It is designed in two pieces which forces the flowers to grow downwards. The vase is in the collection of the Hortus Bulborum and may be seen in one of the showcases in the bulb barn.

New contributions
The contributions were prepared by Joop Zonneveld, Rina Kraaijestein and Leslie Leijenhorst. In the meantime work has started already to prepare the Hortus contributions for the 2010 edition.
(January 20, 2009)

Hortus Bulborum supplies tulip bulbs for cookbook
Special publication about food during the war and beyond

In the fall of 2008 the secretary of the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen, Joop Zonneveld, was approached with a rather unusual request. Might he have a particular type of tulip bulb in stock, specifically a Darwin tulip, type Cottage Dutch Breed or English Breed and no matter which cultivar it was. ctually it was not such strange request from the only garden museum of historic spring bulbs in the world. The bulbs were to be used for recipes for a cookbook focusing on past times. Top chef Pierre Wind wanted to make a special dish with the bulbs. As it was most bulbs had already been planted. But Zonneveld had indeed a small bag of 25 to spare.

“Make it cosy: historic recipes from the hunger winter to today” is the resulting booklet published by the Projectgroep Wegwerken Archief Achterstanden (Workgroup to Reduce Archival Backlog). The booklet was recently presented to Secretary of State Ank Bijleveld-Schouten of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. It shows much nostalgia with the old photographs of people seated at dining tables, photographs of information folders and pages from recipe books of the Voorlichtingsraad van den Voeding (now the Voedingscentrum-Netherlands Nutrition Centre) from such times of hardship as the war years (WWII) and the reconstruction period (post WWII), as well as the tumultuous years of the Sixties. There are simple but nutritious recipes from the days when there was little abundance and not much choice of available foodstuffs: kruidmoes (milk soup with barley), balkenbrij (liverwurst sausage), and Hete Bliksem (potatoes with sweet or sour apples and some bacon).

Tulip bulbs
It is well-known that during the Hunger Winter of 1944/45, tulip bulbs were eaten by many, especially in the western sections of the Netherlands, if only in order to have something to fill one’s stomach. Many tulip varieties do not taste good at all. Better something than nothing was the thought of the day. Yet Darwin tulips were considered quite tasty. One of the brochures from the Voorlichtingsraad dating from that particular time provided a recipe for tulip bulbs. Pierre Wind became inspired by tulip bulbs and made up several contemporary recipes for the booklet. His insistence on the Darwin tulip was thus based on the historical notion that these tasted quite agreeably. Through his experiments he came up with bulbs chips, tulip bulb garlic soup and smoked salmon with tulip bulb mousse. This last recipe is included in the booklet. Strangely enough, the page with this recipe also contains a warning from the Nutrition Centre that the consumption of tulip bulbs has serious health risks, while ten of thousands of people ate those bulbs in WWII to surive the harsh winter. It resembles administrative alarmism. But as a whole the booklet remains a fascinating publication.
(January 16, 2009)

In memoriam

Jan Tuijn 1914-2008
A life captivated by bulbs

On December 3, 2008, Jan Tuijn, retired bulb farmer, former Conservator of the Hortus Bulborum, and examiner for the bulb inspection service, died in his home town of Limmen at 94 years of age. Things did not fare well with him the last few months. Visitors were advised to come in the afternoon when he was at his best.

Tuijn’s life was devoted completely to all aspects of bulb culture. Upon finishing agricultural school he entered the bulb grower’s profession. Pieter Boschman, the inspirational school principal and co-founder of the Hortus Bulborum, had successfully fostered in Tuijn the love for this field and with his eagerness to learn he quickly acquired a considerable amount of technical know-how. In 1932 Tuijn entered the tulip identification competition of the Limmen-Heiloo division of the AVB (precursor of the KAVB) which involved the bulbs planted in the garden around Boschman’s house. Of the 278 different bulbs in the garden he was able to name 247 of them correctly. Later he would himself add to the assortment of available popular bulbs because he hybridized and developed the much-loved Tulipa ‘Rococo’ (1942) and the white crocus ‘Glory of Limmen’ (1983). Jan Tuijn was a pragmatic practitioner constantly on the lookout for innovation and further immersion. Yet he was not serious all the time and at unexpected moments he would show the humorous side of his nature.

Because of his never-ending passion for the bulb industry he served the field in a variety of positions and honorary functions. In 1947 he joined the board of the Neversie, now known as the Hortus Bulborum, first as member, later as Secretary, and later again as combined Secretary-Conservator. Together with Boschman he managed the gradual expansion of the Hortus collection. From 1960, as a member of the Hortus board, he was instrumental in its participation in the various Floriades. In the seventies he played a prominent role in the establishment of the Museum for Flower Bulb Culture at the farm Vredeburg in Limmen, which closed since then. He was much involved with the shipments of heirloom bulbs for the interior courtyard of the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem and the garden of the Royal Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn. In addition to his work for the Hortus, the impassioned bulb farmer was also active in other community work in his village. He was influential in the establishment of the local VVV and served as its Treasurer for more than 25 years. And he contributed to the flower mosaics of the annual Limmen Flower Days.

As an examiner for the bulb inspection service he made important contributions to the profession. His sharp eyes were a real benefit to him. Whether it was a ‘sick’ tulip or an ailing flowerbed, his expert eyes diagnosed quickly what was wrong. Using his expertise he inspected the flower fields of the Hortus until he was of advanced age. Until a few years ago he would regularly get on his bike during the bulb flowering season for a visit to ‘his’ bulb garden. He would spot an overlooked viral tulip or notice a bed with “bad” soil in the garden and he would promptly notify the board. In April of last year Jan Tuijn and his family were present at the official celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Hortus. The entry path to the garden was dedicated as the Jan Tuijn path on that occasion.

With his death we have lost an extraordinary bulb farmer and one of the most important founding supporters of the bulb garden museum in Limmen. With 43 years of service on the board (1947-1990) he was the Hortus board member with the longest term of service. Because of the Jan Tuijn path he shall be remembered for evermore. And rightly so.
(January 2, 2009)

Participation in Winter Flower Shows
For both trade as well as the public at large

As in the past the Hortus Bulborum again will participate during the coming season in a number of winter flower shows. Before the garden actually opens its gates it will be possible to see a small selection of easily-forced older tulip varieties at several flower shows in the country.

The first show will be the Midwinterflora in Lisse (January 6-9, 2009). This show is aimed primarily at professionals in the bulb sector and is the initial show of the year with bulb and tuber varieties in flower. The theme is “The Future is at Hand”. It is the first time that the show takes place in the trade center of the new CNB building at Heereweg in Lisse.

Breezand
Later in the season the Hortus Bulborum will be represented by a fascinating entry at the Lentetuin (Spring garden) in Breezand (February 26-March 2, 2009). For members of the public this show ranks among the most interesting of the season. And that is, also partly, because the inspiring master flower arranger Piet Hollander, together with Frank Hollander since a few years, and a large number of volunteers, have produced a notable flower spectacle each time. In the past several years, a number of traditional and exotic themes have been used, i.e. Old Dutch Carnivals, Mysterious Egypt, and Venice.

Golden Age
For spring next year the theme In the spirit of the Golden Age will evoke the 17th century. No doubt a replica of an East Indies ship will be the main attention-getter. Next to the flower show hall will be an agricultural trade show and the spring Expo. In addition to agribusiness specialists there will also be many booths with consumer products. And a café were snacks and drinks are served is available. More info can be found atwww.lentetuin.nl.
(December 12, 2008)

Website photo display reactivated
New pictures every two weeks

The observant viewer of this website must have noticed: the photo display had already for some time not been updated and certainly not on a regular basis. The simple reason for this was a shortage of adequate manpower. The complete website has to be maintained by a volunteer, the same volunteer who throughout the year is also responsible for the development of other communication means such as folders, book markers and other promotion features. Then, on July 22 the moment came, and the photo display was updated at last. And with no less than fourteen new pictures of the almost surrealistic and captivating parrot tulips.

It had been an unfortunate situation, because the photo display was a favourite feature of the previous version of the website launched in 2005. The tour, as it was then called, was the initiative of Gert Dekker, member of the board at that time. Together with the late Rudolf Degenaar de Jager he also had been responsible for the wall-size photo composite display at the information centre in the bulb barn which showed hundreds of photographs of the various classes of tulips. It was quite evident from the website visitor numbers that the photo display drew much attention.

Virtual gallery
When the situation returns to normal again and the routine for uploading of the photographs has been realized, the possibility to feature the work of other photographers on a temporary basis in the photo display will be considered. Among them will be Philip Friskorn, who is the photographer who does most of the work for the HB in the past year. Take into account for example his wonderful photographs that have been used for the Hortus book, the website in general, the promotion leaflet and the various note card series. And once this occurs the photo display will be expanded into a small but true virtual gallery.
(July 22, 2008)

Harvesting bulbs in the traditional manner
Hortus in Limmen still harvests by hand

Right now is an extra busy time for bulb growers since the majority of this season’s bulbs need to be harvested in the next few weeks. Many bulbs farmers today use machinery for this heavy chore. At the Hortus Bulborum, the unique-in-the-world treasury of historical bulbs, this task is still completed by hand, as it has for many decades- on the knees in the sand, with traditional tools. The large number of volunteers available for the task this year is remarkable. Most of them are retired bulb farmers who know the tricks of the trade. Among the ten or so volunteer workers are Hortus board members Joop Zonneveld and Herman Neelissen, plus various new volunteers who reported for duty in the last several months. They will complete the task in just over a week.

Photo: Max Nuyens

The time-consuming but careful method used ensures the quality of these special bulbs. There are rarely any injuries to the bulbs and there will be few overlooked “sick” bulbs. After the harvesting, the bulbs will be transported to board president Piet Apeldoorn’s company where they will be set out to dry for a week. Then the bulbs will be brought to Proeftuin Zwaagdijk where they will be peeled, ide est separated from the mother bulbs. The board expects a standard size harvest, except perhaps for the very legendary but lesser robust Rembrandt tulips, which may have suffered from the heavy winter frosts in late March. The crocuses will show good quality this year, especially the Crocus chrysanthus group which bloomed vigorously until late in the season. This is very much in contrast to the results seen with the cultivation of this crocus group for other bulb growers.

Within the Netherlands and elsewhere
Each year a small collection of a few of the historical tulip types is grown for commercial purposes. This trade collection is made available to a small number of specialized sales outlets and exporters, to special historical gardens in the Netherlands, among them Palace Het Loo, and elsewhere to exclusive garden centers and distributors in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the United States.

Welcome
Although garden is now officially closed, the public is welcome to come view how bulbs were harvested in times past. As it now stands, harvesting will take place in the last week in June and the first week in July, in two periods of two days. Most likely this will be Wednesday and Thursday, June 25-26 and then again on Wednesday and Thursday, July 2-3. Should you find yourself walking or biking in the neighbourhood, please feel free to stop by to see the activity in the fields.
(June 20, 2008)

Hortus now at its loveliest
Bulb collection in full bloom

If nature was off track last year due to the long period of dry weather and high temperatures, this spring developed a lot more normally after an initial period of cold weather. And that had positive results on the kaleidoscopic-colored beauty of the large patchwork quilt formed by the small bulb fields in the garden of the Hortus Bulborum. The Hortus closed nine days early in 2007 but at exactly the same time period this year the collection shows itself in all its glory.

Normally the garden is at its most beautiful and most impressive during the last week of April and the first week of May. It is then that the largest number of the more than 3,700 various cultivars and species of the various spring bulbs are in bloom. Although the crocuses have finished, a small number of the very late-blooming narcissus are still in flower. Currently it is the hyacinths, the fritillaries and especially the tulips which are most worthy of attention. The more than 2,500 various types of tulips form the largest part of the collection.

Twice per season
Many a tour leader and volunteer in the garden kiosk gives the real aficionados the advice to come at least twice during the season. Thus more and more people buy a season pass for hardly more than the price of two single tickets. One visit for the crocuses and the early narcissus, and a visit later in the season for the exuberant beauty of the tulips. And those who arrive late have the opportunity to see the beautiful Rembrandt tulips which appeal so to the imagination.

Like a peony
These tulips have in fact very little connection to Rembrandt, primarily because the 17th century master never painted a tulip. The name refers to the Golden Age and the period of the tulipmania. This was the era when many people fell under the spell of tulips with unusual petal markings and they were willing to pay thousands of guilders for a single bulb. Everyone had to have them. Red with white flames, purple, almost mahogany with yellow patterns or perhaps purple and violet tulips with cream or white feathering. The oldest bulb still available is the red with white tulip ‘Zomerschoon’ (Summer Beauty) from 1620. But right now there are many other beautiful types of tulips in bloom, such as the double late tulips, some of which almost resemble a peony because they are so full. And during its introduction in the 1660s the were called peonies because of it resemblance. Or the elegant, slender single late tulips, also known as cottage tulips, because they were grown in the small gardens around the characteristic labourers’ homes with thatched roofs in the English countryside.
(April 29, 2008)

Exhibition of art work with Hortus Bulborum as central theme
Small Dutch-Reformed Church in Limmen transformed to gallery

During the past month, whether they be amateurs or with professional ambitions, artists from several amateur painting groups of Castricum and Limmen have been inspired by the floral splendour of the Hortus Bulborum and have put their inspirations on panel, canvas, paper or vellum. On Saturday, May 3 and Sunday, May 4 the results will be on view.

A total of 65 artists participated during the three painters days in the garden, about 50 from the group Perspectief in Castricum and 15 from the groups of Tineke Kramer-Pijnappel en Willy Min of Limmen. It was a lovely sight to see. Painters, sketchers and watercolorists each found their spot in the bulb garden and interpreted the floral splendour of the Limmen garden jewel in his or her way. One would be found on a bench with a sheet of paper on the lap, the other with an easel as if he or she were the real Jacob Maris, Job Graadt van Roggen or Vincent van Gogh. And yet another on the knees in the dry, rough sand. However…on one of those days, and due to sharp cold winds, the artists decided to avail themselves of the warmth and comfort of the bulb barn where they would finish their impressions on the materials they brought with them. These painting days marked the eightieth birthday season of the unique garden museum with its collection of living botanical treasures.

Traditional Holland scenes
It would be no surprise if an occasional artist would stop by the garden. And the same could be said for a group of three to five artists stopping by to paint. But this large a number of artists had not been seen before in the garden. All those who are familiar with the garden know that at certain spots and various perspectives it can display the most picturesque traditional Holland scenes. Such as an old-fashioned landscape with small, brightly-coloured bulb fields laid out in quilt-like fashion with in the background the little Dutch Reformed church of Limmen. In general, professional and amateur photographers already know quite well how to find their way to the Hortus Bulborum.

For Sale
The little church will be transformed to a gallery for one weekend. Each artist may exhibit one piece of art. These pieces are also for sale.
(April 24, 2008)

Painting the Hortus Bulborum
To the garden, with canvas, easel, and pencil

An idyllic spot such as the Hortus Bulborum has caused many an artist in the past to become enthusiastically inspired, whether they would be photographers or sculptors, sketchers or painters. During the 80th anniversary season of the Hortus Bulborum three morning painting sessions will be held. Painters and sketchers of various regional amateur groups in Castricum and Limmen will gather at the bulb garden museum in Limmen to record their impressions of this cultural and historical jewel on paper, panel or canvas. On those mornings the garden will resemble an authentic outdoor studio.

On the 16th and 18th of April painters of the amateur art association Perspectief of Castricum will choose a spot to paint or draw behind their easels or benches amidst the colorful small bulb fields. Perspectief organizes several exhibits each year in the Oude Duinrandschool in Bakkum. Twice a year the Duinrandartotheek is open to borrow art pieces for a very reasonable price. On April 19 the group of Tineke Kramer-Pijnappel and the group of Willy Min of Limmen will gather inspiration from the multi-coloured flower splendor. Some of the artists will choose for a traditional landscape picture with the small historical church as background. Others will be charmed by the bright and beautiful flower beds resembling a patchwork quilt. And others again will prefer a portrait of a rare and old tulip or daffodil, possibly out of commercial production already for a number of decades. Any artist passing by the garden by chance is also welcome.

Photo: Max Nuyens

Bulb barn
During inclement weather it will be possible for the painters, sketchers and water colorists to seek shelter in the bulb barn, a replica of the traditionally designed barns built at the beginning of the previous century in bulb farming areas.

Exhibit
Max Nuyens, Hortus board member and coordinator of the project Painting the Hortus, is counting on a good response by artists. “Often they are very talented. The groups vary from 15 to 30 participants.” On Saturday, May 3 and Sunday, May 4th the exhibit “Hortus Bulborum 80 years in Bloom” will take place in the Dutch Reformed church in Limmen. During this exhibit a large number of art works produced during the morning painting sessions will be exhibited. The paintings, watercolours and drawings also will be for sale.
(April 17, 2008)

More than 80 old Fiats 500
Hortus Bulborum to be open air showroom

On Sunday April 20 the Hortus will be temporarily transformed into an open museum for four-wheeled vehicles.That afternoon, between 1.30 and 3 P.M. more that 80 old Fiat 500s will be on view. The cars are owned by members of the national Fiat 500 club and all date from the period 1957-1975, the approximate period during which these upbeat and very handy vehicles were manufactured. Each year the Fiat 500 club makes several trips to unusual locations or places of interest. This year the Hortus was chosen to be one of those special places.

Photo: Max Nuyens

The ‘invasion’ of these special Italian small vehicles will not cause any damage to the unique bulb collection or the garden beds of the Hortus Bulborum foundation. The small cars will be parked in their spots by the supervisory staff of the Fiat 500 Club and board members and volunteers of the bulb garden on areas of the garden grounds which have been grassed over. These areas will lie fallow for a year or more in order to let the soil be invigorated for the next growth and flowering seasons. And it is not just the drivers of the vintage cars who will arrive in Limmen. A few drivers will bring friends and family members with them, some young and some old. And so it promises to be a fun family event, especially if the weather gods cooperate.
(April 17, 2008)

Path in Hortus in Limmen named after Jan Tuijn
Former secretary and conservator honoured

During the official Hortus opening on Friday, April 4th which was attended by many, the path from the entrance kiosk to the garden was dedicated as the Jan Tuijn path. Jan Tuijn was a board member of the Hortus Bulborum from 1947 to 1990, at first as a regular board member and later as secretary and conservator. The laureate himself, now 94 years old, was present with his spouse, as well as many family members, scores of volunteers, and numerous representatives of the bulb industry. He and president Piet Apeldoorn together performed the unveiling of the path’s name plate by drawing aside the fancy fabric cover with tulip designs.

The Hortus Bulborum and the bulb industry have been an integral part of Jan Tuijn’s life. Not only was he a board member of the Neversie (Nederlandse Vereniging tot Bevordering der Wetenschappelijke Veredeling van Siergewassen, the predecessor of the Hortus Bulborum) which had the collection in ownership until about 1990. He was also a bulb grower and an inspector for the Bloembollenkeuringsdienst (Bulb Inspection Service). And that was fortunate for the Hortus because it is advantageous to have an experienced conservator to help maintain an accumulation of these somewhat delicate historical bulbs. Each season he reviewed the collection very carefully, searching for ‘bad soil’ or other detrimental issues which could injure or weaken the rare bulbs. And in his role as board member he was closely associated with the entries of unique historical spring bulbs to the various Floriades (large flower shows both covered and in the open air), especially Amsterdam and Zoetermeer. At one of these he gave a tour to the still young Queen Beatrix.

Photo: Max Nuyens

Longest-sitting board member
The name plate looks similar to those of roads, squares, streets and alleys in the public sector but in a somewhat more nostalgic style as seen in some of the historical city centres. The name plate states: Jan Tuijn, secretary and conservator, 1947-1990. As such Jan Tuijn is one of the longest-sitting officers of the Hortus Bulborum, originally under the auspices of the former Neversie.

Boschman
But already much earlier the then recently established Hortus Bulborum played a role in his life. As a pupil of head master Pieter Boschman, originator of the unusual bulb collection, he participated in a number of activities outside of school. In the book which Leslie Leijenhorst wrote about the Hortus Bulborum is an illustration of the diploma dating from 1932 which Jan Tuijn received from the local commission in Limmen of the Koninklijke Algemeene Vereeniging voor de Bloembollencultuur (Royal General Bulbgrowers Association). As young boy of 18 he had correctly identified 247 of the 273 tulips in Boschman’s garden on the corner of the Zuidkerkenlaan and the Schoollaan in Limmen, as well as along this road.
(April 6, 2008)

Symbolic cheque from Stichting Tuingids Noord-Holland
Hortus Bulborum receives generous donation

During the official jubilee meeting to observe the 80th anniversary of the Hortus Bulborum, the Stichting Tuingids Noord-Holland (North-Holland Garden Guide Foundation) handed over a cheque in the amount of 4000 euros to the directors of the Hortus Bulborum. Ria van Eijndhoven, chairwoman of the Garden Guide Foundation, presented the artistically designed large format cheque to board president Piet Apeldoorn. The Limmen Foundation had already spent some of the impending funds because a good use for part of the donation had been found: a beach wheelchair. This would make the garden much easier to negotiate for those with some physical impairment.

The reason for the donation is the cessation of activities of the Stichting Tuingids Noord-Holland. Until recently this group produced a guide which described more than fifty North-Holland gardens. The Hortus was also included in the guide. The foundation donated to the museum bulb garden due to the jubilee year and also because the mission of the Hortus to maintain a unique piece of blooming Dutch historical and cultural legacy was of great interest to them.

Special donation goal
The money will not be spent on regular maintenance but will be designated for a special purpose. With the generous gift in the offing the Hortus Bulborum ordered a beach wheelchair in the meantime. This type of wheelchair will facilitate access to the garden to those who are less mobile and who would not be able to use a regular wheelchair on the uneven sand paths along the little bulb fields.
(April 4, 2008)

Historical Bulb Garden now Eighty Years Old

While five years ago the Hortus Bulborum commemorated its 75th anniversary with much celebration, this year the garden will celebrate its 80th birthday quietly. To note the milestone, Leslie Leijenhorst, author of the official Hortus Bulborum history, launched another promotional design. With a Hortus Bulborum flag, new garden website and promotional flyer already developed, Leijenhorst designated a book mark as the perfect communication device to observe this anniversary year.

Clusius
Botanical drawings from the 16th and 17th century form the basis of the illustrations represented on the book markers. The woodcuts from Rariorum plantarum historia (1601) authored by Carolus Clusius (1526-1609), the prefect of the Leiden botanical garden, are the recurrent theme. These woodcuts show a strong resemblance to the varieties of flowers shown in the collection of the Hortus Bulborum even though many of these varieties disappeared from commercial production already hundreds of years ago. It is not surprising, of course, that the book mark designs are similar in style to the professional communication tools developed previously under Leijenhorst’s supervision for the unique bulb garden. .

Simons and Boom
There are four different book mark designs, each unique and handsome. If the one side of the four designs are put together they reproduce a 17th century tulip drawing by Jacob Marrell (1614-1681), stepfather of the famous painter Maria Sibylla Merian. The concept was proposed by Leslie Leijenhorst and his company Het Schrijflokaal (The Writing Room) of Arnhem. The actual design was produced by Simons & Boom also of Arnhem, capital of the province of Gelderland. These same graphic designers developed the 2007 promotion folder for the Hortus which this year was reissued with a few minor revisions. The original print run of 10,000 was thought to be sufficient for three years, but the garden ‘s popularity is growing, especially outside the Dutch borders. This meant that a new printing was already needed after one year’s use of the original folder. .

For sale
In this jubilee year each visitor to the garden will receive one book mark as souvenir. Those who wish to purchase an additional design or the complete series printed on heavy stock can do so for a small charge: one book mark for € 0,70 or the complete series (four designs) for € 2,50. In addition, the book markers will be made available to local and regional book stores. And for as long as the supply lasts, they will be distributed by libraries located in the province North-Holland. A good number will also be circulated by various means to destinations outside the Netherlands.

Tulip bulb on loan to Hortus Bulborum
Bronze by local artist Tineke Kramer-Pijnappel

In early February the Hortus Bulborum of Limmen met with Ben Hes, alderman of the CAL municipality (Castricum-Akersloot-Limmen), to discuss the possible participation of the Hortus Bulborum foundation in the art-on-pedestal initiative. Local and regional artists have the opportunity to exhibit a piece of art within the geographical limits of the community, usually in gardens, parks or plant borders. The loan would be a component of the art initiative of the municipality CAL, with the community offering the loan of the pedestals.

Photo: Roland van der Kleij

Alderman Hes, who is the commissioner of culture among other activities, was happy to note that the pedestal plan was finally taking shape. The plan was created because the town of Castricum exhibits a number of pieces of art along the so-called entertainment route, the route which the entertainment-seeking public would follow to reach home. The result of this was that vulnerable works of art not infrequently were an easy mark for mischievous members of the public. The decision was made to withdraw a number of art works which were particularly sensitive to vandalism and to store them. And that was a shame. Especially since public art in the two formerly independent communities of Limmen and Akersloot was somewhat underrepresented. And thus alderman Hes was interested in placing the pedestals in other areas of the community. The only condition was that the local artists would agree that their work would be lent out for a long period. Board member Herman Neelissen received the first pedestal on behalf of the Hortus.

Local artist
The locally and regionally as yet unknown artist Tineke Kramer-Pijnappel recently told board member Max Nuyens that she had a lovely bronze in her studio. It was one for which at the moment she had no particular purpose. And it was a tulip no less. From the earliest beginnings of the garden in the 1920s tulips have played a major role within the collections of the Hortus Bulborum. Thus no more appropriate piece of art than this.

Indefinite loan
The bronze tulip meanwhile has been placed on the lawn to the side of the entrance booth of the tulip garden museum. The sculpture will remain there for an indefinite amount of time. The pedestal is approximately 1 meter high and the bronze tulip is about 65 cm high. And so, upon entering the garden, visitors will not miss seeing this lovely piece of art. It is a real attention grabber.
(February 10, 2008)

Luxury note cards depicting living historical bulbs
Rembrandt, parrot tulips and old daffodils

Last year saw the informal introduction of a series of note cards with the name Treasures from the Hortus Bulborum saw light. The cards portrayed tulips primarily, especially those no longer in commercial production. These bulbs can nowadays be seen in bloom only in the garden museum of the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen and various castle and palace gardens in the Netherlands and a few selected gardens elsewhere. Without the benefit of much publicity, the note card series sold very well. Approximately 80 % of the print run has been sold already.

The suggestion to produce the cards was made by Leslie Leijenhorst. A wealth of picture material was available from when he had worked with photographer Philip Friskorn to produce the acclaimed book on the history of the Hortus Bulborum. Some of the photographs were used for other promotion materials such as the Hortus website (2005) and the new Hortus folder (2007). But it occurred to Leijenhorst that much more could be achieved with these beautiful photographs. And thus the striking note cards were produced, to be sent all over the world and to serve as handsome promotion material for the Hortus.

More than 40 motifs
Meanwhile in the last half year much work has been done to produce two whole new note card series. One is devoted to antique Rembrandt and parrot tulips. The other series is devoted to historical narcissus, now only produced in small quantities for special gardens and estate plantings. Johan van Scheepen, taxonomist and librarian of the Royal General Bulbgrowers Association in Hillegom, played a central role in the choice of which narcissus were portrayed. The note cards beautifully illustrate that narcissus can be more than just yellow trumpet flowers.”

Anecdotes in English
The new note card series vary slightly from the 2006 series. In addition to the name and date of the first description or registration of the flower, the backside of the card now offers a short narrative or anecdote in English about the flower, sometimes descriptive and sometimes lyrical. Appropriately enough, since it is expected that the cards will be sent around the world. A small percentage of the proceeds of the sales of the cards will go to the Hortus Bulborum Foundation as extra income for their activities.

Historical bulbs
Assisting with the editorial review of the descriptions, accurately described as “acrobatics on a square centimetre”, was Rina Kraaijestein for the Dutch language version, a very committed and much experienced editor and journalist. Assisting with the botanical nomenclature was the previously listed Johan van Scheepen. Leslie Leijenhorst received much help with the English language texts from Scott Kunst, proprietor of Old House Gardens - Heirloom Bulbs in Ann Arbor (Michigan), the premier dealer of historical bulbs in America. Also assisting is Jane Baldwin-Gerlach, originally Dutch, currently living in the United States and until recently the President of the Friends group of Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore, MD, now volunteering for the Hortus.

Soon
The cards will be for sale in the Winkel and Webshop of Het Schrijflokaal (The Writing Room) www.hetschrijflokaal.nl. In addition, the cards are sold at the lectures which Philip Friskorn gives for the various sections of Groei and Bloei. Also the cards will be available from several shops in the Netherlands like P.C. Nijssen en Panorama Tulipland and some foreign sales points. Images and payment details can be found at the forementioned website.
(November 18, 2007)

Hortus Bulborum in Limmen gains overseas volunteer
The Holland America Line

The Hortus Bulborum is supported in these efforts in great measure by its volunteers. Most of these come from Limmen and its surroundings. A few live a little further away. And since a few months ago, the only garden of its kind in the world has an assistant in the USA. With her roots in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Jane Baldwin-Gerlach recently joined the Hortus corps of volunteers.

A brief announcement on the website of the Hortus this past spring about an opportunity to help with English translation work for its website made Jane get in touch with the Hortus. By chance she was organizing a tour to the Netherlands in April for garden enthusiasts from the Baltimore, Maryland region. In addition to Keukenhof and the bulb fields near Leiden the group also was scheduled to visit the Hortus, so here was the ideal opportunity to meet in person. LL, a volunteer himself and author of the book about the Hortus, provided the group’s guided tour during the visit. And so the first contacts were made.

The library
”Not that it was strange that Jane would be drawn to the Hortus,” says Leslie Leijenhorst:” Born as she was in what was then the Dutch East-Indies, she still has many connections with this country”. After returning to the Netherlands she finished elementary school in Amsterdam and then emigrated with her family to the USA where she completed her high school and university education. Jane decided on a library career and took her professional librarian training at the University of Michigan. Work took her to the University of Rochester (state of New York), Harvard, and North Carolina State University (NCSU). It was at NCSU that she revived her interest in gardening, took university courses in horticulture and made the decision to change careers. She has never looked back and has no regrets about the switch from the library to the garden.

Bulb fields
When her husband was offered a position at Leiden University she came along. For the next six years, from 1979 to 1985. She thoroughly enjoyed her stay in Leiden and Oegstgeest. During that time she worked for Swets & Zeitlinger in Lisse, an academic publisher and subscription agency for libraries, where she was responsible for the customer service for the North America division. She maintained contacts with libraries in the US and Canada which ordered subscriptions for European journals via Swets. Said Jane:“When I think back to that period I remember the daily bus rides (at that time line 50 Leiden-Haarlem) and the natural progress of the bulb fields throughout the year, the spreading of manure, the emergence of the flower heads, the bright colours and the heading of the flowers. Sometimes when I went to work in the morning the fields were red and that evening the fields would be green, while there were piles of red, yellow or blue petals everywhere along the road. And I remember those men always walking along the rows of the fields, with their hands behind their back. Those are scenes which I will never forget.”

Baltimore
Now back in the US, Jane moved to Baltimore in 1993 where her career took a major turn. She began to volunteer with the Cylburn Arboretum Association, the Friends group of the local arboretum. Two years later she was invited to become the group’s President and she did not take long to accept the invitation. For twelve years she directed the group’s activities at the arboretum with fundraising, special events, public relations, gardening and teaching. This past spring she stepped down as President in order to have more time for hobbies such as opera and travel. But one passion did not change. Her love for flowers and in particular Dutch bulbs never deserted her. “I am thrilled to be able to reconnect with my Dutch roots on behalf of the Hortus.” And the Hortus is very glad with this unexpected connection.
(October 15, 2007)

Bulbs of desire
Lectures on the Hortus in Sweden

During the early part of September Leslie Leijenhorst gave several lectures on historical bulbs at several locations in Sweden. The theme of the presentations focused on “Bulbs of desire“. One of the lectures took place on the Fredriksdal estate in the western harbour town of Helsingborg. The other two lectures were presented in the orangery of the Akeshovsgård estate in Bromma, a western suburb of Stockholm. The lectures were made possible with the support of Blomsterframjändet, the Swedish component of the IBC- the International Flower Bulb Centre of The Netherlands.

The first lecture took place on September 2 in the community centre of the mini open air museum on the Fredriksdal estate. The initiative was undertaken by the new owners of the exclusive garden and lifestyle shop Flora Linnea which is situated in one of the historical buildings on the perimeter of the estate. The lecture was also the start signal for the bulb sale season. Historical flower bulbs from the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen are now available at Flora Linnea. A number of the bulbs sold briskly on this first day.

Akeshovsgård
Two lectures were held on the 6th and 7th of September at Tulpanens Hus situated on the outskirts of the Akeshovsgård estate in Bromma, a western suburb of the Swedish capital. Tulpanens Hus was started by My and Hakan Alverback, managers the largest tulip forcing business of the country. Tulpanens Hus is a combination of exclusive garden center, cafeteria, meeting room and gift shop, with garden bulbs and tubers as the central focus. The first lecture was specially organized for the press in the nearby orangery dating from 1750. During the preliminary part of the program there were remarks by Marina Rydberg, head gardener of the Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde estate, the former residence of the painter prince who lived there until 1947 and now functioning as a museum. Her talk focused on the use of antique bulbs and the re-introduction of these in the garden of the prince, who was a dedicated painter and gardener. This special lecture for the press was particularly well-attended.

Swedish press
Over 30 representatives of the Swedish press were in attendance, including the editor of Allt om Trädgård, the largest garden journal of Scandinavia. Also attending the conference were various specialist green journalists from the national dailies such as Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter. The following day there was an informal meeting for the public attended by Karin Persson of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. She and a number of her colleagues are charged with the maintenance of the permanent plant genetic material collection, of which historical bulbs form an important component.

Next year
Because of the success of these several lectures there is a good chance that Leslie Leijenhorst will give the presentations again next year at the beginning of the bulb sale season.
(September 15, 2007)

Harvesting bulbs in traditional fashion
Hortus volunteers still dig by hand

It is an extremely busy time for bulb growers right now. The majority of tulips, hyacinths and Fritillaria have been dugged up in the past two weeks. Major bulb growers do the harvesting by machine. At the Hortus Bulborum the process is still performed in the traditional manner: by hand and on the knees in the sand.

Photo: Max Nuyens

The large number of volunteers is heartening. Seven men are lending a helping hand; two of them are board members and together they have completed the task in the past weeks. The willing workers are Gerard Glorie, Piet Veldt, Gerrit Veldt, Gé Timmer, Herman Neelissen, Joop Zonneveld and Jan Dijkman.

Quality Bulbs
The time invested in the harvesting process is considerable: 215 hours for the tulips, sixteen hours for the hyacinths, 30 hours for the Fritillaria, and twenty hours for the crocus. That's a total of about 280 hours! It would take one single worker seven weeks of labour to complete the task. This time-consuming but careful harvesting method will benefit these special bulbs. The volunteers are efficient and experienced so little damage to the bulbs will occur while the number of overlooked 'sick' bulbs is next to none. After harvesting, the bulbs are sent to bulb company Th.Apeldoorn at the nearby village of Egmond, co-owned by Hortus chairman of the board Piet Apeldoorn. The bulbs will be stored there during the next month in order to be dried. No complaints about the volume of the harvest this year because it is quite sizeable. This holds also true for the olden-but-golden Duc van Tol group of tulips, the oldest of which dates back to 1595.
(June 23, 2007)

Despite early season closing, Hortus had gratifying accomplishments
Springtime warm temperatures and drought played a role

The Hortus closed its gates nine days early this season because of the warm spring temperatures and long-term drought. There seemed to be no other option for the foundation. But it was a good season nevertheless. As expected, the number of visitors was down slightly. And overall, the visitor totals were not much below those of previous years.

The festive and well-attended opening day was one of the special highlights of the season. Among the reasons to celebrate was the transfer of maintenance responsibilities to Proeftuin Zwaagdijk (Trial garden Zwaagdijk). And the hyacinths, narcissus, Fritillaria and tulips had never before bloomed so early and at the same time. This was an altogether unique occurrence in the history of the garden. The international media returned again this year to report on the coming season or to prepare documentaries of an historical or cultural nature. A film crew for a gardening program of a Moscow TV-station with over a million and a half viewers came to the Hortus for the second time in four years. And the Bayerische Rundfunk arrived to prepare a special documentary report. Said secretary Joop Zonneveld: “This was a demanding team with perfection as its goal.”

Botany of Desire
Later in the season a film team from Kikim Films (United States) with Cianni Stewart in charge came to film excerpts for the upcoming ‘Botany of Desire’ by Michael Pollan. At almost the same time the American writer Justin Spring arrived to do research on a forthcoming exhibition and book with the topic of The Tulip in Art. And by tradition a number of Scandinavian magazine journalists visited the garden, as did the most important Swedish tulip grower Håkan Alverback and his wife My. From September on, the Alverbacks will be promoting the Hortus in their recently established store Tulpanens Hus (The Tulip House). This ‘House’ is a combination gift boutique, small glass-enclosed demonstration garden, florist shop and gallery with the tulip as its central focus. Tulpanens Hus is housed in an old greenhouse as well as an antique conservatory on the grounds of an 18th century estate in the suburb of Bromma, just outside of Stockholm. This is where the historical bulb jewels from Limmen will be introduced and offered for sale. Leslie Leijenhorst, now living in The Netherlands and author of the well-acclaimed book on the Hortus Bulborum will deliver two speeches on two consecutive days, early September 2007, to underline the importance of this unique collection garden. It has recently been announced that the Swedish Flower Bureau will underwrite this effort.

International press coverage
Not just the local and regional press but also professional journals, national and internationl dailies and gardening journals feature the Hortus Bulborum regularly. Articles were found in media from all areas of the world, from Vietnam to the United States, and from Sweden to France. Kotipuutarha, the Finnish popular gardening magazine, had a four-page article about the garden and the collection. The Reisejournal (Westphalia, Germany) provided almost two whole newspaper pages to an article on the Hortus. The Dutch local, regional and national press was also quite active. The Noordhollands Dagblad and the Alkmaarse Courant covered the garden several times, as did De Uitkijkpost and the Nieuwsblad Castricum. And the Barneveldse Courant which published a series on noteworthy museums and attractions in The Netherlands included a feature page in color. Photographer Philip Friskorn had a two page article with text and photographs in the modern though religious monthly Quinta, a reincluding a mention of the Quinta tulip

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences-Alnarp
As if that were not enough, a delegation from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp showed up unexpectedly at the gates halfway through the season to study the narcissus collection of the Hortus. In this southern Swedish city near Malmö, a collection of unusual narcissus is being gathered which will eventually become part of the national plant collection. In actuality this is a type of national gene bank which will comprise all types of plant material such as bulbs, shrubs and trees. A similar initiative was established in The Netherlands several decades ago already. The Hortus tulip collection was included officially in 2006 while the complete garden collection already has been a part of the [Dutch] National Plant Collection for a considerable period of time. The extensive narcissus collection of the Hortus is one of the few which can serve as a reference collection. The three ladies from Sweden made many photographs. Preliminary plans to initiate an exchange of plant materials have been discussed.

More adoptive parents
As to other aspects of the garden this season: after a review of entrance fees to determine proper price structure the proceeds from this income category increased 24 %. The number of donors increased more than 3 % to a total of 243. The number of adoptive parents increased even more. ‘Adoptive’ parents are those who for a minimum period of at least three years are willing to ‘adopt’ a specific tulip, narcissus or other bulb from the collection. Each adopted bulb plot receives a red tag with the name of the person or company which has adopted the bulb. Some adopt a tulip because grandfather developed it or because father or uncle grew the bulb or brought it into commerce. Others adopt because they have an interest in the artist, actor or sports star for whom the tulip is named. Those who are not yet regular donors may also ‘adopt’ a bulb. The number of adopted bulbs increased some 20%, from 68 to 82. And the number of major sponsors increased from seven to nine.

Website receives many more visits
Increase of 20 percent over the past twelve months

All is going well with the recently renovated two year old website of the Hortus Bulborum. In fact, all is going well way beyond expectations. The number of visits to the virtual garden site, both during the high and low seasons, is increasing steadily. Prior to the introduction of the 'new' website in April 2005, about 1,000 visits would occur on average per month during the low season (June-February). In the past two years, the numbers of visits per month during the low season has increased to an average of 2,200.

There was a record high of nearly 6,000 visits in one of the high season months. A quick review of the annual figures of the last three twelve-month test periods shows the following impressive numbers: May 2004-April 2005: 18,283 visits May 2005-April 2006: 29,374 visits May 2006-April 2007: 34,953 visits

Strong upward trend
In the most recent test period the number of visits increased by 20 %. This shows not only a strong upward trend but also a definite consolidation of website visits. And it represents a very impressive number for a small but unique cultural-historical facility, open to the public for only six weeks of the year and managed by volunteers for the most part, each with his or her own professional background. Due to lack of attention from the volunteers for the past eight months, website maintenance had suffered and only in the most recent four weeks has maintenance been given much attention again. The road to the virtual Hortus is clearly more accessible to visitors now, even during the low season.

Sweden
It is interesting to note which countries and regions generate most visits. Not surprisingly The Netherlands often scores high, varying from 32 to 62 %. US Commercial, Belgium and Germany visits also are often high on the list. At the same time it is very obvious when the Hortus receives publicity in the foreign media, such as when Sweden scored highest (with 36% in one particular month) and left the Netherlands far behind with a score of 22 %. Or the month that Denmark, Singapore and Israel each suddenly scored at least 10 %.

Important component of promotional activity
It is intriguing to assess which website component is particularly effective. Originally put together by former board member Gert Dekker (in charge of public relations), the photo album remains a major attention grabber while the News section in both language editions also receives much attention. The figures show evidence that the website plays an important role in the promotion of this interesting bulb garden. And this occurs not only for our own country but also for what has become known as the 'global village', where the website is an essential tool for promotion to all corners of the globe. Not to mention other aspects of website visits that are not so easily quantified. More and more people discover or rediscover the Hortus because of the ease of access through the world wide web.
(May 29, 2007)

Take leave of the old, but save the worthwhile
Hortus Bulborum continues its search for antique bulbs

While the Hortus Bulborum has obvious name recognition among bulb growers, and it is clearly recognized that the Hortus is always on the lookout for antique and disappearing spring-blooming bulbs, the road to the bulb garden treasury is less than well-travelled. Especially for those who know themselves to be the only ones remaining to raise a particular old tulip or hyacinth cultivar. But the Hortus remains true to its mission of searching for additional antique cultivars to add to the collection.

The bulb collection now includes more than 3,500 cultivars and species of tulips, hyacinths, narcissus, "frits" and crocus, with the tulip collection being part of the National Plant Collection since 2006. A regular occurrence is the conversation of members of the board or tour leaders of the Hortus who encounter a colleague or ex-colleague and hear the following: "Oh, were you looking for that one? I was growing it until about two years ago, but no one showed any interest. You should have told me earlier." Or a crate of bulbs is unintentionally left in the barn and not planted: "It was just old junk". Even now special and legendary cultivars disappear from cultivation regularly. Well known cultivars were saved like the single early tulip 'Bellona' (1944), Mendel tulips like 'Van der Eerden' (pre-1932) and Bing Crosby' (1947), double early tulip 'Wilhelm Kordes' (1943) and single late tulip 'Sigrid Undset' (1954). But also Breedertulp 'Philippe de Comines' (1891) was already rescued many years before the production of this legendary variety was only discontinued a year ago. It would have been such a shame if this deep dark, nearly blackish tulip would have disappeared, amongst many others, and be forgotten. Especially since there are more and more estate gardeners and others who are showing a renewed interest in these old bulbs. The Hortus is eager to improve this situation.

Points to remember
The Hortus Bulborum is continuing its search for unusual bulbs to be added to its ever-growing collection. Cultivars of the following four main components of the current collection are particularly sought: tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and Fritillaria. 1/preference is given to bulbs which are older varieties; 2/perhaps you know that you are the last one to grow a certain variety, in that case don't hesitate to contact the Hortus Bulborum: 3/it is not necessary that the variety was grown in great quantities but it may have been of importance or of particular interest to a number of growers or export companies; 4/the board of directors will determine if the variety is a candidate for the collection. It is not only the antique cultivars that are of interest but also those which may have long been popular and then suddenly lost that popularity. These certainly should not be omitted from the Hortus collection.

From the 16th century until now
The goal of the Hortus foundation is not only to save very old varieties but also to provide a complete picture of the development of the tulip and the other bulbs from the moment that they were introduced in the Dutch landscape. Varieties from the 16th century's 'Duc van Tol Red and Yellow' until those of today. For some this would be grandfather's special tulip, for another this would be a variety that has been in cultivation for more than one hundred years.

You need only to call or mail us
Should you have one or more varieties that might be of interest to the Hortus, please get in touch with us. You need only do that and one of the members of the board or a volunteer will be glad to pick up a small number of bulbs from you. Link to contact site
(May 23, 2007)

Exhibition 'Treasures from Limmen' on tour
On view now in Paasloo

For the last month and a half, the photography exhibition 'Treasures from Limmen' by Philip Friskorn was on view in the library of Anna Paulowna, the community which claims to have the largest area of contiguous bulb fields in the world within its borders. Now that the 'Flower Days' and the season are past, the exhibition is also closed.

Created by the photographer responsible for most of the photography of the Hortus book, the website and the new brochure 'Treasures from Limmen' is now on tour. From today on, a good number of the large photographs, some of them are also for sale as note cards under the name 'Treasures from the Hortus Bulborum' are on view at the gallery ¦workshop De Horst, Horstweg 2, in the country setting of the village of Paasloo (Noordwest-Overijssel). The exhibition will be on view there through the end of September and, most probably, will be shown again elsewhere after that. The gallery is open only during the weekends, both on Saturdays and Sundays from one until five PM.
(May 19, 2007)

Hortus takes historical decision
Gates close early this season

Because of the continuing drought and recent high temperatures the Board of Directors of the Hortus Bulborum decided for an early closing of the visitor season. Monday, May 7 will be the last open garden day for this spring.

Since the early nineties when the Hortus moved to its present location next to the small medieval church at the village of Limmen, back to the cradle where the nucleus of the collection was founded around 1924, the garden has been open to visitors for approximately six weeks each season, from early April to mid-May. Often the first few weeks presented unpleasant weather but then it also often was balmy or pleasant weather. Since several years the garden now opens on April 6th and close on May 16th.

Fading colors
The recent unusual weather conditions, with no measurable rainfall since March 21, caused the many beautiful small plots and rows of assorted tulips, narcissus, daffodils, hyacinths, crown imperials, and other spring-blooming bulbs to decline rapidly. The past month of April was the hottest, sunniest and driest ever since weather statistics were recorded for the first time. Even the automatic watering system which was introduced this year in the gardens offered no solution. Only the late blooming tulips, such as the legendary Rembrandt tulips, of which the most ancient dates from 1620 ('Zomerschoon'), one of those tulips that made men crazy during the hey days tulipmania period (1634-1637), and the attractive Breeder tulips famed for their beautiful shimmering colours were still worthy of admiration. However, even these were losing their magical beauty because of the continuing drought and warm weather. With the difficult growing conditions in mind it was decided that the number of historic tulips in topmost form and beauty was just too limited to keep the garden open to the public any longer.

Spring 2008
Visitors who arrive in vain at the garden gates will find helpful information posted. Next spring by tradition the Hortus will open on April 6th and once again will offer its thousands of visitors its unique flower bulbs treasury.
(May 6, 2007)

The website of the Hortus will be updated further in several weeks. Current maintenance activities will continue while expansion of information will occur in several sections.

In Focus will become an important new column and includes two subdivisions: Legendary Bulbs and Famous Pioneers. Legendary bulbs covers interesting stories about bulbs which have been in cultivation for decades or even centuries, or for example which represent new developments in cultivars. Examples would be tulip ‘Zomerschoon’ (1620) and tulip ‘Couleur Cardinal’ (1845). The column Famous Pioneers covers the work of many distinguished bulb growers and hybridisers, such as Pieter Boschman (the founding father of the Hortus) and Dr. Willem E. De Mol van Oud-Loosdrecht, the hyacinth hybridiser who combined his hyacinth collection with Boschman’s tulip collection whereby the Hortus Bulborum was born in 1928. Also the late and very well-known daffodil grower Karel van der Veek and others will receive due attention. The column In Focus can be found under About Hortus Bulborum.
(April 29, 2007)

On April 25 author Leslie Leijenhorst donated two boxes of his book Hortus Bulborum, treasury of historical bulbs to Nick van der Kolk, director of the Golden Tulip Hotel in Heiloo. Soon after these copies would be placed in all 42 rooms of the hotel. Not only an interesting way to bring the book but also this second-to-none treasure trove of historical bulbs, unique in the world, to the attention of the hotel guests so that they might learn about this living museum at Limmen village. And of course want to visit the gardens if the guests stay in the area at the right time of the year.

Inspired by his travels and as guest in many hotels of the world Mr. Leslie Leijenhorst deliberately chose this unique marketing method to promote the museum garden of the Hortus Bulborum Foundation. Despite being a polyglot Mr. Leijenhorst himself had experienced the frustration of having access to books with fascinating topics of local or regional interest available in hotel chambers but which he was unable to read due to the use of the vernacular texts. Looking at the illustrations did not satisfy sufficiently. With his book having both English and Dutch texts all foreign guests of the hotel will be able to enjoy the information on the Hortus found in this volume.

Kwartje Koffie (coffee for a quarter)
The author chose this hotel for several reasons, not the least of which the hotel’s evocative name.
Tulips, after all, are the mainstay of the Hortus collection. Prior to the nineties when the bulb collection was moved to Limmen it had been planted for many decades on the fields behind the café Kwartje Koffie (coffee for a quarter) and now the Golden Tulip Heiloo. The café is mentioned in the book and its name is now used for the café-restaurant in the Golden Tulip Hotel. Many residents of the region will recognize the roof lines of one wing of the hotel as being similar to the roof lines of the bulb barns of earlier days when the grounds behind the hotel were still owned by the well-known bulb growers and export firm of Van Hof & Blokker, which nowadays has its headquarters at Mississauga (Ontario, Canada).

Book availability
Hotel guests will not be able to purchase the book in the hotel. However the volume may be bought at several local book stores: in Castricum at Laan, Scholte and The Read Shop; in Heiloo at Deutekom Boeken & Tijdschriften and in Egmond at Dekker & Dekker. And of course at the Hortus itself during the spring season. It may also be ordered from the author directly at www.hetschrijflokaal.nl
(April 25, 2007)

Swedish Agricultural University Alnarp delegation visits Hortus Bulborum
Great interest in narcissus collection

On Wednesday and Thursday, April 11 and 12, 2007 a delegation from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Alnarp visited the Hortus. The delegation consisted of Eva Jansson, director of the POM, Karin Persson and Anita Irsholm. As the name indicates, the POM (Programme for the Diversity of Cultivated Plants) is the initiative which promotes and maintains the diversity of Swedish cultivated and agricultural crops. And this would include not only flowers, but also shrubs, trees and vegetables. One of the delegation's most important goals was to take photographs so that they might identify the cultivars of their own collection.

There is much interest in the Hortus in Sweden. This was quite evident during the two exclusive spring flower exhibits at Ulriksdals Slott in 2006 and 2007 in Solna. And so, at last, the ladies decided to take a field trip to Limmen. In addition to making a complete photographic record of the collection of narcissus, there was also interest in seeing the garden and getting acquainted with the Hortus collection in its entirety.

Biodiversity
The POM is a unit of the Swedish Institute for Biodiversity, which in turn is associated with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp, nearby the southern Swedish city of Lund. Over time a good number of antique narcissus cultivars had been assembled there but no one knew quite what to do with the collection. It was not always clear which varieties were in the collection and thus the visit to the Hortus was a first attempt to identify the various types and cultivars. It is anticipated that later on a DNA analysis and comparison of plant material also may be attempted. According to Karin Persson: "We are busy building a national shadow collection, a type of genebank." It will in time be similar to the National Plant Collection of The Netherlands. It is in fact the basis collection of genetic material in the area of plants, bulbs, tubers, annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees. There is, however, a big difference in the initial organization of the collections of the two countries. In The Netherlands the national collection is housed at a fairly large number of botanical gardens and other collection gardens, and there is less emphasis on fruits and vegetables. In Sweden it is the plan to locate the complete collection, including trees, in one area near the Agricultural Sciences campus. And there is, of course, never enough space. Another important goal of the visit was to discover the methodology of collection treatment and maintenance. Said Persson: "We do not want to repeat the same mistakes that other organizations may have made already. We want to learn from their experience".

Hundreds of Photographs
The POM is not exclusively interested in the yellow harbingers of spring, but the narcissus did have priority this time. The organization has indeed additional interest in other bulbs and tubers, such as hyacinths, grape hyacinths, and dahlias. The delegation also did spend considerable time with the hyacinth collection at the Hortus. Although time was short, ideas were exchanged with conservator Joop Zonneveld about the possibilities of future cooperation. Also the ladies made hundreds of photographs, especially of narcissus, old and new, yellow trumpets and the elegant poeticus, the remarkable cyclamineus and the early doubles. Before too long the collection of narcissus is going to bloom on the fields at Alnarp, so this is a particularly timely opportunity to compare the Swedish collection with that of the Hortus Bulborum by means of the extensive photographic material.

Exchange
It is the intention to exchange bulb cultivars between the Hortus Bulborum and Alnarp according to Zonneveld. "It could be an interesting addition to our collection. We could not only expand our collection but also consolidate it. The Swedish collection consists of approx. 210 types as compared with the Hortus with its 800 types. I would guess that approx. 20 to 30% is not in our collection. We would check the Daffodil Register and Classified List (the official world register of narcissus) to see which of these might be of interest to us. I would not expect that the exchange would take place much before the summer of 2008." In contrast to the tulips, the collection of narcissus at the Hortus is not removed from the ground each year. In 2007 about forty historical narcissus types will be relocated because of the World Daffodil Tour of 2008. Also both parties will have to check their cultivars carefully in order to eliminate duplicates. Sometimes historical cultivars have multiple names; certain historical ones have as many as six. Additionally, it is not yet known how many bulbs Alnarp has of each type. The exchange of types will be determined by which types Sweden would like to receive from Limmen and which the Hortus would like to receive from the Swedish collection. Both parties need to benefit.

New insights
After the visit to the Hortus the ladies made a quick visit to Josephine Dekker in Oterleek, the only woman narcissus hybridizer in the Netherlands and one who specializes in Victorian and early 20th century cultivars. They also discussed with her how to keep a collection of narcissus in good health. Looking back Karin Persson said: "We made an incredible number of photographs, gained new insights and exchanged ideas. The visit was extremely useful. We learned in a very short time much on how to raise narcissus successfully and because of our many photographs we were able to gather an incredible amount of reference material."
(April 14, 2007)

Hortus Bulborum looks toward the future with optimism

As usual the Hortus opened the gates this season on April 6th. And this year the opening was extra festive because of the recent designation of a new organization to provide maintenance for the garden. Beginning with this season, the maintenance of this unique bulb garden will be carried out by Proeftuin Zwaagdijk (Zwaagdijk Experimental Nursery).

Until recently regular maintenance of the garden was done for the most part by dedicated volunteers. Due to the increasing average age of these committed helpers the Hortus foundation decided about six years ago to outsource the major maintenance work to Van den Hoek’s Bloeiproevenbedrijf located in ‘t Veld, Westfriesland. This company already was managing the forcing of Hortus bulbs for various trade bulb shows and expositions in the area, such as Egmonds Bloemenzee and the Holland Flower Festival in Zwaagdijk.

Fading colors
Van den Hoek’s Bloeiproevenbedrijf merged with Proeftuin Zwaagdijk earlier this year to achieve greater productivity and efficiency. It was also agreed upon at that time that Proeftuin Zwaagdijk would become responsible for the future maintenance of the Hortus. Reason enough to enjoy some extra festivity at the opening of the season. On Friday, April 6, Ir. Johan G.M. Kos gave brief introductory remarks and explained the changes as “The past deserves the future.” Proeftuin Zwaagdijk has been recognized for several decades already as a major study institute in the area of phytological research on tulips, lilies, gladioli, irises, crucifers, chicory, lettuce and carrots.

No major changes ahead
Mr. Kos explained that expansion often brings efficiency and modernization. But he suggested that there would be no major changes in the maintenance activities for the Hortus Bulborum. “Maintenance will be kept appropriate for this unique and beautiful garden. A balance will be achieved between suitability and efficiency. Well-established procedures and techniques will be preserved. These are ever so fitting for this extraordinary museum-like bulb garden.”

Jewel of cultural history
Now that Proeftuin Zwaagdijk has been given the responsibility for the maintenance of the Hortus in the years ahead, the future of this jewel of a garden with Dutch antique and historical flower bulbs has been safeguarded quite appropriately.
(April 2, 2007)

Philip Friskorn has one-man show in library of Anna Paulowna
Show exhibits photographs of historical bulbs from the collection of Hortus Bulborum

Philip Friskorn is not an unfamiliar name in the Hortus garden. Over the past few years he has made thousands of photographs of the historical bulbs. Until May 14 a small but exquisite one-man show by this photographer from Oldemarkt is being held in the library of Anna Paulowna. The show is on display during the regional Bloemendagen, from April 28 until May 2.

Tulips and narcissus, hyacinths and crocuses, frittilaries and irises. Close-ups and bulbs in the field. Artistic or close to real life. Many of his photographs have been used in the book Hortus Bulborum. Others are being shown on the website or in the new folder of the Hortus. The front of this folder shows an intriguing Rembrandt tulip named 'Mabel', dating from 1915 (but with no connection to Mrs. Mabel Wisse Smit, wife of Prins Friso). In addition Mr. Friskorn's photographs have been used for the first series of double note cards "Treasures of the Hortus Bulborum". This series will be expanded in the near future to include Rembrandt and Parrot tulips as well as historical narcissus.

Twenty photographs
Mr. Friskorn‘s show is entitled “Treasures from Limmen” and is exhibited in the library of the village Anna Paulowna. He personally selected the twenty photographs from his extensive archives. They are not printed on paper but on canvas which has been stretched on wooden frames. The texture of the canvas emphasizes the exquisite texture of the photographic subjects. Flower close-ups provide for a very colorful exhibit. The photographs are prominently displayed above the book cases in this remarkable building due for demolition after the new municipal office building has been completed.

Oldemarkt native
It is no coincidence that the exhibit is being shown right now. It was intentionally scheduled to be on display during the Bloemendagen (Flower days) of the area. Books by the artist as well as the book about the Hortus are for sale in the library. These include his new book of photographs of Drentse and Frisian landscapes as well as the note cards with photographs of historic bulbs. Later this year the exhibit will be shown in a gallery in Paasloo in Noordwest-Overijssel.
(March 28, 2007)

New Hortus brochure
Twelve panels, trilingual

With the start of the current season, the Hortus has a new promotional brochure. Design group Simons & Book of Arnhem together with Leslie Leijenhorst, author of the book Hortus Bulborum, produced a strikingly beautiful folder composed of twelve panels, with texts in Dutch, English and German. The remarkable photographs were taken by Philip Friskorn, who might almost be considered the in-house photographer, and former board member in charge of public relations Gert Dekker. The new folder is twice as large as the previous version.

Historical flavour
The objective of the folder is to show high quality design, a trilingual text, and a definite historical flavour as seen in other Hortus promotional materials. The folder resembles the jubilee version of the book Hortus bulborum with the use of woodcut illustrations by the famous botanist Carolus Clusius, first prefect of the Leiden University botanical garden in the late 1500s. These woodcuts were also used as illustrations in other Hortus printed materials. Not altogether surprising because the oldest cultivar of the Hortus collection in Limmen is the ‘Duc Van Tol Red and Yellow’ tulip which Clusius had planted in the Leiden Hortus on the Rapenburg, the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands, in 1595.

Promoting the Hortus
Response to the new folder has been unanimously enthusiastic. The centerfold is a stunning photograph of the Hortus made available without charge by Old House Gardens in Ann Arbor, (Michigan, USA). Old House Gardens is the prominent American bulb supplier of antique spring- and summer flowering bulbs. Many of the firm’s offerings of heirloom tulips are supplied by the Hortus Bulborum. And owner Scott Kunst has a warm spot in his heart for the Hortus. In a recent company newsletter he wrote with pride: “Helping the Hortus - 10,000 copies of the Hortus Bulborum’s brand new brochure await tourists in the Netherlands this spring. Open it and wow! Two full panels are filled with a big, beautiful photo of the Hortus in full bloom - and if it looks familiar that’s because it’s a photo from our website. We also helped edit the English text for Leslie Leijenhorst, the brochure’s talented designer and author of the Hortus Bulborum book. We are proud to help this extraordinary botanic garden (and Leslie) in any way we can!
(March 20, 2007)

Reindert Degenaar de Jager (1929-2006)
Tireless advocate of the Hortus Bulborum is dead

Reindert Degenaar de Jager (known to all as Deeg) had been ill for some time when he passed away on November 17, 2006. Some sadly had noticed his decline earlier in the year when volunteers gathered for the last of the spring season's afternoons at the historical bulb garden in Limmen. He no longer was the old Deeg.

Until he retired Deeg de Jager was head of the bulb growers, sales and export company Vanhof & Blokker, originally situated in Limmen but later housed at the village of Heiloo in the area right behind where the Golden Tulip Hotel is located now. Later he also headed the company subsidiary in Ontario, Canada. He was promoted to CEO in 1973 after joining the Board of Directors in 1967.

Colourful personality
Deeg de Jager was a remarkable man, a gentleman with much style and very well spoken; a flamboyant personality. A bulb lover through and through he always gave his best efforts to his business and the bulb industry in general. He filled many positions in foundations, commissions and organizations and he was well-known for his work with the "Thank You Canada and Allied Forces" foundation which was very dear to his heart. In 1990 he received a Knighthood of the Order of Orange-Nassau for his extraordinary efforts on the foundation's behalf.

Host extraordinaire
Most residents of the region will remember Deeg de Jager because of his support for the Hortus Bulborum which he loved deeply. He became involved with this unique bulb garden through his father-in-law Nicolaas Blokker. As a friend of Pieter Boschman, the founding father of the Hortus, Blokker took on the generous task of providing space for the bulb collection on his own land so it could remain united and eventually be expanded. Later De Jager, as successor was a consummate 'host' until the Hortus found its new home on the Zuidkerkenlaan in Limmen in 1992. He served as a member of the Board of Governors for 43 years, first of Neversie (The Netherlands Society for the Promotion of Scientific Improvement of Ornamental Plants), the predecessor of the current Hortus foundation, and from 1990 till 2001 of the Hortus Bulborum.

Unbridled enthusiasm
After his long governorship Deeg de Jager remained active in the bulb garden. He acted as guide to many groups from abroad and gave lectures to local and foreign visitors and organizations, such as the Rotary. He would occasionally intervene when he sensed that the foundation directors were hesitant to make certain investments. Motivated by his enthusiasm and passion he regularly invested personal funds in items or matters of particular interest. Under the guise of temporary loans these investments often would end up as permanent gifts. Thanks to his generosity the interior of the bulb barn was improved with audiovisual equipment, glass cases for museum objects, and the photo wall (installed with the help of former board member Gert Dekker). These would allow visitors to have a worthwhile visit to the unique spring bulb collection even during inclement weather conditions. And because of his extensive expertise and formidable network connections he always attracted many people to become involved with the garden's activities.

Accomplished and charismatic leader
With De Jager's death, the Hortus lost one of its most important advocates and pillars of support of the last several decades, and the bulb industry lost a most accomplished and charismatic leader.
(November 21, 2006)

Hilversum exhibition showcases Hortus Bulborum
Limmen bulb collection as example of botanical treasure garden

Although the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen has closed its gates for the season, for those who love this unique bulb garden there is still another opportunity to enjoy the garden during the off-season. Museum Hilversum with its current exhibition 'The Pleasures of the Garden' shows the development of the garden through the centuries, from cloister garden to the 20th century Mien Ruys garden, from the lovers' trysting garden to the botanical treasure garden. Developed during the 1920s, the Hortus represents this last type of garden. The exhibition runs through November 5.

'The Pleasures of the Garden' introduces the historical beginnings of the garden as shelter, ideal beauty, and usefulness and explains the further development of the garden through the centuries. At first, gardens were available only to the privileged few since they were established at cloisters, castles, and universities. Then, as the social structure of the Netherlands evolved, more and more people were able to have a garden of their own. Consider the garden cities at the beginning of the last century. Or the famous Mien Ruys garden. She introduced old railway sleepers in the Dutch gardens as a decorative element in the 1970s. Ruys liked rectangular and square forms as well as clear lines and was one of the first architects that took up seriously designing smaller urban gardens. In today's Vinex neighborhoods, individual owners now have gardens and although these are quite small they are of immense value to these owners. Vinex locations are named after a famous government note of The Netherlands Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Environmental Protection in which for many major cities in the country areas were designated to develop large newly built city extensions, in order to concentrate urbanisation in a small country as The Netherlands is. Nowadays the name Vinex location is also used for any bigger town extension project outside the larger cities.

Modern collector's garden
The Amsterdam exhibit designer Astrid Honold considers the Hortus a fine example of a modern collector's garden, with cultivars from the sixteenth century as well as more recent times and many in between. It is not a garden with large trees, lush flower borders or wandering paths, but a collection with a rich variety of colors and scents now saved for posterity. It is a garden which strives not for the romantic experience but for diversity of the collection. On a sunny day, whether sitting on a bench, or strolling among the beds of antique tulips with evocative names such as 'Amiral de Constantinople' (1665), 'Yellow Rose' (1700) and 'Rose Grise de Lin' (1860), the garden with its thousands of bulbs in all of their variant forms will be an enjoyable experience for the true bulb lover.

Antique tools
With photographs, texts, memorabilia and antique tools traditionally used in small-scale bulb growing, and pots of specially forced tulips all produce a portrait of the garden. Some of the old tools are still in use at the Hortus because it is not possible to use modern tools or equipment in small areas. The work has to be done by hand. This traditional and small-scale style of working can be observed in the section of the exhibition which covers the Hortus in Limmen.

November
The Exhibition 'Pleasures of the Garden' is on view until November 5, 2006. See also www.museumhilversum.nl and www.hortus-bulborum.nl
(August 20, 2006)

Collection Hortus Bulborum considerably enlarged
This autumn the Hortus Bulborum has the tremendous luck to be able to increase its collection tulips and daffodils appreciably. The extension could be mainly realized due to generous donations both from The Netherlands as well as abroad. The largest donations came from well-known Dutch hobby collectors who gathered in the course of the decades impressive selections of unique heirlooms.

An appeal made through the trade press partly triggered these highly interesting and invaluable gifts. With the new extension the collection of the Hortus Bulborum grew to an even more unrivalled number, unique in its nearly 80 years of history, of often breathtaking bulb jewels; from around 2,500 till 3,500 different cultivars, distributed over the six main bulb groups: tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, Fritillaria, crocuses and irises. The newcomers belong mainly to the bulb groups: Tulipa and Narcissus. Further, a few new hyacinths could be obtained like the delicately soft silvery blue ‘Queen of the Blues’ (1870), just saved in time and virtually harvested for the last time at the plots of a small commercial grower.

Murillo
The tulip collection welcomed around 500 cultivars and species. Many cultivars belong to groups like Triumf, Single Early, Single Late and Darwin. In addition, several new Breeders as well as Lilyflowering tulips to the already multi-coloured and -faceted collection got its place in the garden. And, on top of that, also a few ‘new’ Murillo’s (the legendary Double Early tulips, of which the cross breeding parents originally were developed in the second half of the nineteenth century) joined the forces. Among the oldies, are apart from the Murillo’s not yet in the collection, also treasures like ‘Cardinal’s Hat’ (1860) and ‘Rose Blanche’ (1897). However, the majority of the ‘new’ tulips date from the 1940s and 1950s with sounding cultivar names like ‘Atilla’, ‘Elisabeth Arden’ and ‘Coreolan’.

Botanical tulips
Further, some hundred species of Tulipa could be added to the collection of botanical tulips. This section has always been one of the country’s leading ones. The number nearly doubled to about two hundred. Among the additions are T. aximensis, T. bibersteiniana (1829), T. celsiana DC (1803) en T. praestans ‘Zwanenburg’. Surprisingly many species are dating from the period 1800-1850, the time that these species were described for the first time. It was during this era that many plant expeditions were organized. Numerous botanists and specialised plant finders travelled to Asia Minor and Central Asia on the look out for unknown tulips and other plants. The famous plant finders from the C.G. van Tubergen firm at Hillegom (The Netherlands) are one of the most famous ones in our country. A large number of the botanical species that have been added find their origin in Greece (both continent and islands like Crete) and Turkey.

Daffodils planted by group
Also the daffodil collection saw a substantial increase. The former large extension of this section originated from the late board member Karel van der Veek, one of the famous daffodils growers and hybridizers in The Netherlands, in the early 1990s. Since this extension daffodils no longer played the second fiddle and got a strong foothold within the collection of the Hortus Bulborum. Most of the newly added daffodils were registered in the first half of the 1900s. A novelty is that all daffodils, like the other bulb groups of the collection, now have been planted by group. Therefore, one can find these gorgeous bodes of spring from Spring 2006 onwards planted together with their family members. Trumpets with trumpets, triandrus with triandrus, and small-cupped with small-cupped.
The former, more alphabetically designed lay out dated from the fore-mentioned period when Van der Veek and his sons planted a few hundred different bulbs and thus giving this section a dynamic impetus. Regrouping the hundreds of daffodils has up to now always been a time consuming job and required volunteer labour force, which is even harder to find.
(December 14, 2005)

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On the Holland Flowers Festival most likely ‘Dirk’s Favorites’ Rembrandt look-a-like tulips will attract a lot of attention. However, ‘afficionados’ of the real Rembrandt tulips have to wait another few months until the gates of the Hortus Bulborum open again, because Rembrandt tulips are bad tulips for forcing.

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Over five hundred more paying visitors than last year passed the gate of the garden. And this number is exclusive of the multiple visits by the sponsors and donors, who normally visit ’their’ garden several times during the short season. An increase of 15 percent. Initially, the Board of Governors feared that the counter for the group visits would stagger at a meagre fifteen. Happily enough, all of a sudden, the number raised quickly to a satisfactory 34 groups. This year groups were welcomed (shown around) from amongst others China, Japan and Vietnam.

Adoptive parents
The number of adopted bulbs increased with a generous twenty percent. Tantalizing tulips and frolic imperial crowns stayed at the top of the list of most favoured adoption bulbs. One adoptive parent even decided to take ‘his bulb’ for the coming thirty years under his wings!! An other happy development was that the foundation managed to attract three new sponsors. This gives the foundation to opportunity to initiate new projects or to invest in new objects. F.e. this year wooden garden benches were bought which fitted much more in the picturesque settings of the garden than the ultra post modern steel ones we had till this year.

Website
Just like the 2004 season the garden was proud to have some major happenings again. As some of you already might have noticed the website was completely revamped and enlarged. This was made possible by generous funding of writer and communications consultant Leslie Leijenhorst who also assists us in the field of editing and communication issues. The new website was well received in the press. In the months of April and May over 9000 people paid a virtual visit to the Hortus Bulborum, unlike a small 5000 in the same period during the season 2004.

Marjolein Bastin
Further, the baptize of the Marjolein Bastin-tulip puts the Hortus even more on the map with the public at large. PR board member Gert Dekker got many mails from all corners of this globe who die to buy this white and rose coloured tulip. In addition, the bulb barn annex ‘gossip corner’ and information centre was even more professionalized with revolving slide shows, a further extension of the photo wall and display packed with museum artefacts related to the bulb industry.

International press attention
The Hortus Bulborum received, even more than in the past years, generous press attention. Not only in the local and the regional newspapers, also many trade magazines, national and international (garden) newspapers and magazines dedicated their columns regularly to our heritage garden. From the United States to France, from Sweden till Belgium. France magazine Le Figaro published nearly a full page under the heading “Féerie florale aux Pays-Bas“ (Floral fairy in The Netherlands). The number of links through the Internet expanded again. Further, several photographers and film crews, both from The Netherlands as well as abroad, came to enjoy the garden and do their shootings in order to prepare their features that will be broadcasted or published in print in the Spring of 2006.
(June 10, 2005)

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Tulip named after famous Dutch artist Marjolein Bastin
Introduced by hybridizer Jan Ligthart from Breezand (North-Holland)
On Friday April 22, 2005, a new tulip hybrid was baptized at the Hortus Bulborum. The tulip is named after the well known illustrator Marjolein Bastin. Her fame does not confine to her home country, The Netherlands.

Women's weekly
Marjolein's work is also very well received in Germany and the United States. Craving reviews are not uncommon. The elegant, warm yet modest illustrator works, for the popular Dutch women's weekly, Libelle magazine, already for over thirty years. Every week she depicts a nature theme in her column that comprises both water colours illustrations and small explanatory notes or lyric texts. Flowers, birds, animals; or a subtle still life of different elements. The Marjolein Bastin tulip belongs to the group of Triumph tulips, the most grown tulip in The Netherlands, and also very popular as a cut flower. The tulip is milky white with a rose lining at the outer edges of the petals and incidentally some green flames.

Nature
Marjolein Bastin, who celebrated her 30th anniversary with Libelle magazine last October, finds her inspiration in nature in the broadest sense of the word; especially the flora and fauna and the sceneries of the state Missouri (United States of America), the Grand Cayman Islands, Switzerland and her native country captures her incessantly. It is in these regions and countries that she spents much of her time throughout the year. In The Netherlands she adores by far the Veluwe region (the country's region with vast areas covered by heath fields, forests and sand dunes) alternated by traditional agricultural farmland, and the Wadden Isles. She can be equally thrilled by drawing the smallest rock flower as by the biggest mammal, by painting a natural still life as a vase full of colourful Spring flowers. Thereby she does not make any difference between wild and cultivated. All that lives and blooms keeps her fascination going on. One of her favourite flowers is the tulip. It therefore does not surprises that the magic flower that made many men mad in the 1700s is a returning theme in her illustrations. More than often she eternalized this beautiful spring bulb; in subtle shades and colours, in airy brushes. Birds are another recurring theme in her work. Marjolein Bastin is a patron of the Dutch Birds Protection Association.

Triumph tulip
The Marjolein Bastin tulip can be admired in the Hortus Bulborum; being a Triumph tulip it flowers only in the second half of the Hortus' season.
(April 23, 2005)

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