Visiting Dutch Gardens
When you think of the Netherlands and gardens and flowers, what comes immediately to mind? I assume your answer is “tulips.” Tulips are cultivated here in huge quantity and the bulbs are exported all over the world. But there are plenty more Dutch gardens worth visiting in the Netherlands, even outside of the short tulip season.
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[Last updated February 17, 2026]
Keukenhof and Giethoorn
One of the biggest attractions for tourists in the Netherlands is Keukenhof, a tulip park and flower show that is open every spring from mid-March to mid-May. Literally millions of tulips of about 800 different varieties are on view. If you haven’t had enough of tulips after a day wandering the paths of Keukenhof’s gardens, you can drive the Bollenstreek Route to see the brilliantly-colored tulips in the fields.
The second place that might come to mind when you think about flowers in the Netherlands is Giethoorn. This small village in the middle of the country is laced with small canals, which are lined with lovely houses surrounded by lush flower gardens. You can stroll the paths and bridges or rent a “whisper boat” and putter around the canals admiring the stunning views.
Kwekerij Joosten and Lovely Leah
The Netherlands has a lot more going on in terms of flowers, though, than just tulips and Giethoorn. I’ll list some other events and destinations in Flevoland and Groningen provinces, but first I want to write about a more personal connection to a particular flower.
Kwekerij Joosten, in Flevoland province near the border with Friesland, is where Marianne Joosten breeds new iris and Hemerocallis varieties.
The reason I visited is that almost exactly a year before my visit, Leah Nora Knot, the daughter of friends of mine, died of cancer just short of her 19th birthday. At the request of another friend, Ms. Joosten agreed to name one of her new plant varieties after Leah: the Lovely Leah iris was registered the next summer.
When I visited, a year after Leah’s death, Ms. Joosten had enough of the rhizomes – iris bulbs are called rhizomes – to begin to sell them. And she’s selling them for 10 euros each, with a portion of each purchase being passed on to the Lovely Leah Foundation, founded by her parents. The Lovely Leah Foundation’s goal is to offer support to teenage cancer patients being treated in the local academic hospital. Teenagers with cancer cannot be treated the same way as adults, yet certainly can’t be treated as children either.
You can order the Lovely Leah from Kwekerij Joosten’s website.
Kwekerij Joosten is open every Saturday for a cup of tea and a stroll around the garden, where some of the iris varieties, along with many other flowers, are on show. Ms. Joosten grows her newer varieties in a field just behind the garden hedge.
Private gardens
Some private gardens are open for visits as well.
Gardens in the Noordoostpolder, Flevoland
A group of gardens in this part of Flevoland, called the Noordoostpolder, are not far from Kwekerij Joosten. They offer “Noordoostpolder in Bloei” (Noordoostpolder in Bloom) open weekends in June and August or you can visit at other times if you call first. All charge a small admission fee.
To see a calendar of open days and information on lots more gardens in the Noordoostpolder, see this page. It’s in Dutch, but the calendar at the very bottom is handy. (The URL still says 2025, but I’m pretty sure the dates have been updated for 2026.)
You can also visit them in the tulip season as part of a Flevoland “tulip route.” Check their websites for dates and times. In 2026 the tulip route dates are April 17-May 3, and you can stop into these gardens on April 18, 19, 25 and 26.
Groningen province: Groei & Bloei
In Groningen province, a gardening magazine called “Groei & Bloei” (grow and bloom) organizes an Open Gardens Relay each year among members of their Groei & Bloei clubs. Every week or two from May until September, members in a different branch of the club open their gardens to visitors. (Their website is in Dutch, but click on kalender and open tuinen for the schedule and locations.)
Groningen province: Westerwolde rijgt
Another Groningen gardening event takes place in the eastern part of the province, Westerwolde, in a number of towns stretching along the German border. Westerwolde rijgt, which loosely translates as “Westerwolde laces up,” combines private gardens and art and takes place each year mid to late June. In 2026 the event takes place June 20-28.
Westerwolde rijgt involves 20 gardens of all shapes and sizes, all open free to the public, and all displaying artworks of various sorts. You can glimpse the gardens and examples of the art in each here. Click at the top on the Onze tuinen tab, then choose one of the gardens in the dropdown list to see photos.
Unfortunately this part of Westerwolde’s website doesn’t seem to be available in English, but if you call + 31 599-650039, send an e-mail and/or click around the site you should get the main points.
(By the way, the fortress town of Bourtange is right in the middle of Westerwolde, so you could also combine a little history with your gardens and art.)
Paleis Het Loo
If you’re more into formal, large-scale gardens, visit Paleis Het Loo, a royal palace near Appeldoorn. Its royal garden has been restored to the same Baroque design that the original inhabitants, Willem III and Mary Stuart II, would have enjoyed. Beyond that is a large 650-hectare royal park that is open all year for strolls through the woods.
If you visit Paleis Het Loo, put aside most of the day because the palace itself is magnificent as well. Members of the Dutch royal family lived there until 1975, after which it was restored and turned into a museum.
There are undoubtedly many more private and public gardens or gardening events in the Netherlands that I don’t know about that are worth visiting, including outside the tulip season. If you know of any, please add a comment below.
My travel recommendations
Planning travel
- Skyscanner is where I always start my flight searches.
- Booking.com is the company I use most for finding accommodations. If you prefer, Expedia offers more or less the same.
- Discover Cars offers an easy way to compare prices from all of the major car-rental companies in one place.
- Use Viator or GetYourGuide to find walking tours, day tours, airport pickups, city cards, tickets and whatever else you need at your destination.
- Bookmundi is great when you’re looking for a longer tour of a few days to a few weeks, private or with a group, pretty much anywhere in the world. Lots of different tour companies list their tours here, so you can comparison shop.
- GetTransfer is the place to book your airport-to-hotel transfers (and vice-versa). It’s so reassuring to have this all set up and paid for ahead of time, rather than having to make decisions after a long, tiring flight!
- Buy a GoCity Pass when you’re planning to do a lot of sightseeing on a city trip. It can save you a lot on admissions to museums and other attractions in big cities like New York and Amsterdam.
- Ferryhopper is a convenient way to book ferries ahead of time. They cover ferry bookings in 33 different countries at last count.
Other travel-related items
- It’s really awkward to have to rely on WIFI when you travel overseas. I’ve tried several e-sim cards, and GigSky’s e-sim was the one that was easiest to activate and use. You buy it through their app and activate it when you need it. Use the code RACHEL10 to get a 10% discount!
- Another option I just recently tried for the first time is a portable wifi modem by WifiCandy. It supports up to 8 devices and you just carry it along in your pocket or bag! If you’re traveling with a family or group, it might end up cheaper to use than an e-sim. Use the code RACHELSRUMINATIONS for a 10% discount.
- I’m a fan of SCOTTeVEST’s jackets and vests because when I wear one, I don’t have to carry a handbag. I feel like all my stuff is safer when I travel because it’s in inside pockets close to my body.
- I use ExpressVPN on my phone and laptop when I travel. It keeps me safe from hackers when I use public or hotel wifi.
Rachel Heller is a writer living in Groningen, the Netherlands. She is the owner and primary author of this website, Rachel’s Ruminations, a travel blog focused on independent travel with an emphasis on cultural and historical sites/sights. Read more here about her and about this website. All photos in her articles are her own, unless otherwise specified. Rachel also owns and operates a website about World Heritage travel.
That’s a wonderful post Rachel, great tips and choices! May I ask you to permit me to link this post on my new upcoming post about Amsterdam ? Thank you, lots of love!
Yes, of course you can link to it. Generally you don’t need to ask to add a link to another website. You do, however, need permission if you want to republish all or part of it.