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I can’t remember a time that we had such a late springtime. This afternoon I was for a quick visit in Keukenhof. Even for me it is not so much fun to walk around and see the empty flowerbeds. The temperature feels like winter instead of springtime. And today it was snowing again! (see my youtube video here )
At Keukenhof the indoor exhibitions are the place to be. They are warm and nice. The Fresia exhibition looks and smells wonderful and the tulip / daffodil exhibition is crowed with people taking at least some pictures of how it suppose to look outside.
In the area around Keukenhof I counted only some slightly yellow daffodil fields in the surrounding of Keukenhof. That’s it. For the people dreaming of fields full with flowers please be flexible and travel later. There are no beautiful fields yet.
Forecast for Easter weekend and next week
If the weather doesn’t change the flowers at the Keukenhof and on the fields doesn’t change very much. The weather forecast tells a rise in temperature from Wednesday so we have to see if this will happen.
Will it be worth to visit Keukenhof next week?
Please decide for yourself after seeing all the photos. The same advice as last week: if I had traveled from far I would be disappointed to see no flower fields and very less flowers inside the Keukenhof. But some people still enjoy it.
For all people with the question: Will the tulips/flowers bloom at date X ?
I am sorry we still can’t tell. Due to the extreme cold it is difficult to make a precise forecast this year. The weather is an important factor in this. Just follow the weekly updates and decide for yourself if it is worthwhile to travel to the Keukenhof area. Normally around this time the first fields are over their peak already. Now they are not even blooming.
Photos
See my photos of 29 March 2013 at my flickr page here or the whole collection here .
Next flower update will be next weekend around the 7th of April.
I know it’s virtually impossible to predict the blooming in the fields because of the cooler climate this year but, does this mean when they bloom it will be later in the year they will be cut? I have researched that they have been cut around end of April time (if my info is correct) would I be foolish to vist around 6th of may and not see vibrant tulip fields?
Matt
Thank you so much for your wonderful photos (very talented you are) and good info. It’s the only place I’ve found for two years with accurate information. We were sorely disappointed last year when we visited there April 9 and it was too early. We took a chance and are coming a week later this year. But, it won’t be happening…again. Keep up the good work and keep the photos coming. They may be the only photos we ever end up with of Netherlands’ flowers.
@ Matt – Tulips are headed just after their peak blooming. If the tulips are blooming late they reach their peak blooming also later. The peak of blooming is normally during the second half of April/first week of May. Some tulip fields are earlier some a bit later. If I look outside there are virtually no fields in bloom (looks like nature is running at least 2 to 3 weeks late) We need some warm and sunny weather to have the flowers grow and bloom. The 6th of May is normally at the end of the tulip blooming, and normally i would have said that it would be too late. At this moment i think you picked a perfect time for Keukenhof because the second half of april (in 2 weeks!) seems to me a bit early to see the fields in bloom. The only thing is if we will have a week of nice and warm weather (+15 degrees) the flowers will grow en masse en will be blooming too. So please keep an eye at this blog. I will have weekly updates and photos (and some videos) so you can decide for yourself if traveling to this area is worthwhile. Have a nice easter weekend!
Thanks for the info, I will keep an eye out for your updates.
@ Lou – thank you for your kind words. I am surely hoping for some nice flowers when you visit the Netherlands. I will keep you posted with updates and photos. Have a nice Easter weekend!
We will be there April 15. I guess we will hope for the best. Thanks for the website and updates!!
You have the best information for tulip blooming updates. My husband and I will be touring fields and Keukenhof on April 25. We can hope for the warmer weather and hopefully see some blooms. I am an optimist and will enjoy the Netherlands no matter what. I will keep checking for your updates.
@Lyn and @ Dobie Thank you for your kind words 🙂
The weather forecast says warmer temperatures after this weekend. As soon as the fields are in bloom you will hear it here.
hi,
i plan to visit the kukenhof gardens and fields on one of the days from 20th-22nd April,reading the posts i am bit saddened that the flowers havnet bloomed yet,due to the weather still being cold…i am being optimistic i hope to see bloomed tulip fields by the time i reach.. am i right?? : ).. usually how long does it take for the tulips to bloom in the fields?
thanks,
Ranjeeta
@ Ranjeeta I keep my fingers crossed for you. It is very difficult to predict the blooming this year. Please keep reading the blog for the latest updates. As soon as the first tulip field is up, I will post immediately 🙂 have a good time traveling to the Netherlands.