Garden of earthly delights

LISSE, Holland — You could call it the Dutch version of soul food. Or a feast for the eyes.

Keukenhof, southwest of Amsterdam in the heart of Holland's bulb-growing region, is eye candy by anybody's standards.

It is the display garden of the country's bulb producers. And what a display they produce! Seven million bulbs representing 600 varieties. Hectare after hectare. One panorama of color after another.

And it's in bloom from mid-March to mid-May.

The palette pushes the boundaries of the traditional color wheel. During a visit to Keukenhof you'll realize that flowers are a universal language. On any given day you'll hear visitors speak any number of languages, a virtual tower of babel. But their ooohs and ahhhhs are clearly understood.

Keukenhof (roughly pronounced Q-ken-hof) is to tulips what France is to food or Switzerland is to scenery.

Miranda Maas is lucky enough to work at this garden of Eden. Morning is her favorite time of day. "I always get very excited when I see the first rays of sunlight and the color combinations from the flowers . . . " she said.

She's partial to a newly redeveloped area with a vast geometrical layout. "Every time I go there there is something new to see," she said. "It's surprising . . . how things can change after a renewing."

Most tourists visit Keukenhof on a day trip. And they all seem to give it a thumbs up. "People find a lot of inspiration from the garden. Everybody likes it," she said.

Another option is to take the public bus from Amsterdam to Haarlem, where you connect with a bus that goes to Keukenhof. (Ask your hotel's concierge for schedule information and directions to the main bus station.)

Yet another alternative is the spring cycling tour that departs from the VVV Holland Rijnland Tourist Office in the town of Noordwijk. It starts with coffee and pastries at a cafe along the boulevard and continues past bulb fields and bulb sheds (where bulbs are peeled and dried), through Noordwijkerhout to Keukenhof. The tour runs daily on the dates Keukenhof is open. Reservations are needed only if you want to rent a bicycle. The cost ($23 adults; $15 kids) includes admission to Keukenhof but not the bicycle rental. (For details: e-mail noordwijk@hollandrijnland.nl or visit the Web site www.hollandrijnland.nl, which has minimal information).