Rare Russian tulips on display for the first time
9 March 2010
A giant mosaic of Moscow landmark St Basil's Cathedral created entirely out of flower bulbs is the centrepiece of this year's world-renowned spring display at Keukenhof in the Netherlands, based on the theme From Russia with Love.
The mosaic covers almost 450m² and about 65,000 bulbs were planted to create the display including muscari and tulips in orange, white and carmine red.
The spectacular sight of the seven million bulbs planted each year for the spring festival at Keukenhof is legendary and attracts some 800,000 visitors each year. This year the Russian theme also stretches to the show gardens, showing several Russian cultivars including the rare near-black 'Baba Yaga' Russian tulip, on display for the first time in the Netherlands.
The Keukenhof Spring Festival runs from 18 March until 16 May.