Bollenstreek

The "Bollenstreek" (Dutch for "Bulb Region") is a region in the Netherlands consisting of areas in North and South Holland that feature the cultivation of flower bulbs. The colourful flower fields that have come to symbolise Holland can be seen in these areas around April. [This is a translation of part of the article on "Bollenstreek" in the Dutch version of Wikipedia, with some amendments. The Dutch article itself has no footnotes.]

South Holland

* The "Duin- en Bollenstreek" (Dune and Bulb Region) extends from Leiden to Haarlem in northern South Holland. This area, which includes Keukenhof, is the best known flower region.

* There are a few flower fields in the area south of Leiden (Wassenaar and Voorschoten)

* There are a few flower fields on the South Holland islands of Voorne-Putten annd Goeree-Overflakkee. These fields are found in the sandy clay ground behind the dunes.

North Holland

* The "Kennemerland Bulb Region" in North Holland extends roughly from the Haarlem area (including villages to the south and west of Haarlem) to Petten (northwest of Alkmaar). Wealthy merchants from Haarlem and Amsterdam introduced the cultivation of flower bulbs on a small scale basis in the sandy soil located close to the dunes in the 16th century. After the Tulip Mania crash of 1637, floriculture strongly declined. Unlike in the Duin- en Bollenstreek to the south, the Kennemerland Bulb Region was not -- despite the broad dune area south of Castricum -- extensively cultivated for this purpose. In the 19th century the area had been earmarked for preservation of the Amsterdam water suppply ("Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen") and as a location for the national steel company ("Koninklijke Hoogovens").

* The "Northern Bulb Region" is the area around Breezand in the north of North Holland. This area also did not develop as extensively as the Duin- en Bollenstreek to the south. The soil was not as ideal and some of the bulb farmers left to work in the more developed area in the south.

Towns and villages

Towns and villages in the various parts of the Bulb Region:
* Aerdenhout
* Avenhorn
* Bennebroek
* Bergen
* Beverwijk
* Bloemendaal
* Breezand
* Castricum
* De Engel
* De Goorn
* De Kaag
* De Zilk
* Egmond
* Groet
* Heemstede
* Heemskerk
* Haarlem
* Hillegom
* Julianadorp
* Katwijk
* Keukenhof
* Langevelderslag
* Lisse
* Lisserbroek
* Noordwijk
* Noordwijkerhout
* Obdam
* Oegstgeest
* Overveen
* Piet Gijsenbrug
* Ruigenhoek
* Schermerhorn
* Sassenheim
* Schoorl
* Spierdijk
* Teylingen
* Uitgeest
* Ursem
* Velsen
* Velserbroek
* Vogelenzang
* Voorhout
* Voorschoten
* Warmond
* Wassenaar
* Wijk aan Zee
* IJmuiden
* Zandvoort

Notes