The final opening week of Keukenhof (the Netherlands) has arrived and the park is still flowering abundantly. “A great time” for Keukenhof participants to evaluate the season. The teams of JUB Holland, Rijnbeek Perennials and Keukenhof meet at the Bulb Mania Mix at the spring park in Lisse, the Netherlands. In December 2023, the parties teamed up to plant the joint border with a selection of naturalising bulbs and perennials among all the brightly coloured areas full of bulbous flowers characteristic of Keukenhof. The parties meet to review the development of the border, to exchange feedback and experiences, and to make plans for the next season.
From left to right: Frans Beijk (designer Keukenhof), Stefan Slobbe (foreman gardeners Keukenhof), Marcel van Vemde (Rijnbeek Perennials), Robbert Uittenbogaard and Job van Eeden (JUB Holland), Arno and Olga Rijnbeek (Rijnbeek Perennials), Jaap-Jan Uittenbogaard (JUB Holland)
Arno Rijnbeek explains: “The Bulb Mania Mix is designed by landscape and garden designer Carien van Boxtel and planted in close cooperation with Keukenhof designer Frans Beijk and his team of gardeners. The border offers a natural, meadow-like image within Keukenhof, with an exceptionally long flowering period. While standing here, you notice that visitors really take their time to take a good look at all the special flowers and leaf structures they see here. The information board with QR code helps with this, giving visitors more information about the plants they might not immediately expect to see at Keukenhof. While most plantings will be removed after Keukenhof closes, the naturalising bulbs and perennials of the Bulb Mania Mix will remain and rebloom next year. Expectedly, even earlier and more profusely than this first season, as the plants are now well established.”
Carien van Boxtel, landscape and garden designer
The team of JUB Holland, Keukenhof participant of the first hour, regularly takes its Dutch and international clients and relations to Keukenhof during the season. Robbert Uittenbogaard looks back: “By now, a visit to the park has become a fixed part of our JUB Study Days and is an excellent opportunity to present new ideas such as this mixed border, to start discussions, and to receive feedback. Our relations, and even we ourselves, have been positively surprised by the early flowering, the special leaf textures and the great variety. Bulb Mania Mix forms a nice combination with our own Indigo design, which is right next to this border. It offers our customers and Keukenhof visitors inspiration for their own garden and landscape projects. In fact, the first requests for 10-square-metre packages for the Bulb Mania Mix, which we will take on together, have already come in.”
The Bulb Mania Mix
Keukenhof is also looking positively at the new development. Designer Frans Beijk: “The border is performing well beyond expectations and quickly gained momentum. It is great to see that almost every week different flowers grab the spotlight within this special mix. In the beginning, it were botanical tulips, euphorbia and mertensia that attracted attention; now it’s the turn of white late daffodils, anemone, camassia and centaurea. There is always something new to see and it keeps surprising. Even the old tree stumps that have found a new use in the border have been planted with fritillaria and hellebores. These have provided many fun photo opportunities. We look forward with interest to the development of this border in the next Keukenhof season.”
The Bulb Mania Mix border
Those visiting Keukenhof in this final week of the opening until 12 May can find the Bulb Mania Mix at the eastern side of the park, near the windmill across the bridge.
For more information:
JUB Holland
[email protected]
www.jubholland.nl
Rijnbeek Perennials 
www.rijnbeek.com
[email protected]
Keukenhof
[email protected]
www.keukenhof.nl