Determined not to miss this fellow's work

Why didn't we wander down the path to the Willowman's home at the Floriade?  We obviously launched off without listening to our leader's recommendations and missed what was quite possibly The Highlight of Floriade. But as with most of what's wonderful in the world these days, someone made a video and posted it on YouTube.  Even if you don't speak his language, you'll appreciate the enthusiasm with which he works and shares his interactive art project with the children who visit him at Floriade.

Here are more photos of this Land Artist and his work: http://www.thewillowman.com/Will_Beckers.html

Pretty phenomenal stuff.

Finally, Floriade

OK, this is totally out of sync with our trip sequence but it fit into my life today.

Organized every ten years in the Netherlands, this International Exhibition runs from April to October. You'll find over 150 acres of exhibits, cultural programs, gardening displays/products, innovative gardens and gardening ideas from all over the world.

Highlights for us included:

• A field of things that looked a lot like "butterflies"
• A forest of buttercups or luminous daffodils 
• A crocheted tree trunk and branches

OK, I wouldn't say that what I photographed provides comprehensive coverage of Floriade. I think we were more intent on seeing the entire show, which required a lot of walking/why didn't we take that aerial tram/gondola?  And we lost each other a few times which meant less photos/more time spent searching. Finally, for the first time in Holland/Belgium, we had a lot of sunshine/heat which slowed our pace.  In any case, here are the few pictures I culled from the lot.

Why didn't we wander down the path to the Willowman's home?  We still didn't know!  Tomorrow, links to his exceptional life and work.  WOW.  

Dipping a toe into the Dutch Auction

Bloemenveiling in Aalsmeer.  It's the world's largest flower auction house where approximately 20 million flowers from all over the world are auctioned every day, Monday to Friday morning beginning at 6 AM/oops, we missed that time frame.  It's proximity to Schiphol Airport, just a stone's throw away, is critical for speeding flowers to distant destinations each day.

  

 

 I found the following fun/fascinating/educational video that brings all of us (including me) up to speed on our recent visit.  

Keukenhof

 

• Located just outside Amsterdam, you'll find more spring flowers than you might imagine could exist in one location.
• Seven million hand-planted bulbs showcase growers from around the country
• Held on historic hunting grounds, the show is open just eight weeks each year during peak bloom time

It's spring in The Netherlands!

We visited twice during our short stay in Amsterdam. It rained, as it often does in Holland, during both visits.  And the cloud cover provided great light for photographing the beds during the middle of the day.

One over-the-top trip!

• Bazillions of bicycles with babies propped on handlebar seats, in enormous front-end bins or simply strapped on behind.  All as individual, crazy, old or rusty as their owners.  
• Charming old houses, some just a window wide, supported sideways by each other and vertically by wooden posts.  
• Many beautiful neighborhoods and photo opportunities.  Shoes, a carved wooden handbag and coat among them.
• The MOST AMAZING food.  Beautifully prepared and presented.  Diet before traveling here.
• A floating flower market where houseboat stalls are filled with every imaginable flower, plant and bulb. Still, it's tough to top the SF flower market.
• A city that becomes even more magical when cruising the canals at night.
• Yes, the red light district still exists.  And "coffee" houses stock breads quite unlike Starbucks back home.
• Massive fields filled with magnificent colors, grown primarily for the bulbs not the cut flowers. 

A passion for petals?  You've picked the right place.  It's Amsterdam and the surrounding countryside during the spring. 

Here are the first pictures from our two-week trip beginning and ending in Holland.  With a sensational stop in the middle.

More photos to follow as I sift through thousands of images.