Garden Show & Festival Site Report

Garden Show & Festival Site Report Authors: Bennis 1: Key Facts Name: Keukenhof (principally outdoors; three display pavilions) Show Category: sprin...
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Garden Show & Festival Site Report

Authors: Bennis

1: Key Facts Name: Keukenhof (principally outdoors; three display pavilions) Show Category: spring bulb exhibition, flower show, tradestalls Location: Lisse, Holland Venue: Keukenhof Park (Keukenhof means kitchen garden) Gross Floor Area: 32 hectares Dates: 20 March-17 May 2014 (8 weeks) Origins: 1949 Theme: Holland Opening Times: 08.00-19.30 Ticket Prices: Adults (inc. 65+) 16.00€ Children 0-3 free Children 4-11 8.00€ Groups 20-200 13.50€ Guidebook 5.00€ Car Parking 6.00€ Access & Combi-tickets: The easiest way to get to Keukenhof is by the Keukenhof Express buses which provide non-stop service. The journey takes 25-35 minutes and they leave about every 15 minutes from the following locations:  

Schiphol Plaza – bus 858 outside of Arrival Hall 4, last bus leaves Keukenhof 7:47pm Leiden Central Station – bus 854 located on town centre side, last bus leaves Keukenhof at 7:51pm

Amsterdam to Keukenhof: to get to Keukenhof from the centre of Amsterdam take the Connexxion bus service 197 to Schiphol and transfer at Schiphol Plaza to the Keukenhof Express. Price: buy ticket on the bus for €6 (one-way) or use OV-Chipkaart public transport pass

Low cost tip: buy a Combi-ticket which includes the bus ticket and entrance fee: Combi-ticket Prices:  

Adults €28 (from Amsterdam centre) €23 (from Schiphol / Leiden / Haarlem) Children (4-11 years) €12.50

2. Visitor Facts (2014) Number of Visitors: 1 million (normally around 800,000) Age Groups: no information Private Visitors: Professional Visitors: Reasons for Attendance: Visitor Assessment: Origin of Local Visitors: Home/Garden Ownership: Intention to invest in a garden:

3. Exhibitor Facts Total Number of Exhibitors: 100 bulb companies; 500 flower growers Main Exhibitor Goals and Attainment: no information Rating ‘good’ to ‘very good’ Ratings of Target Visitor Groups Market Positioning

4: Location & Facilities The Keukenhof gardens are located in an area known as the Bollenstreek (Bulb growing region) between Amsterdam and The Hague. 'Keukenhof' is well signposted on the motorways. There is good public access; details in section 1 Key Facts under access. There are large parking areas near the entrance with coach drop off at the entrance. Toilets and tickets are available at the entrance. Internally the site is clearly signposted for facilities including baggage store, toilets, free wheelchairs (charge for motorised), gift shops, bulb sales (orders for autumn delivery), restaurants, cafes. Ideal for wheel chair users and disabled visitors.

5: Exhibitions & Show Gardens This is essentially an outdoor display of spring bulbs. 30 gardeners plant 7 million bulbs over a three month period. The Oranje Nassau Pavilion is the main indoor display area with flower exhibits, displays and tradestalls. Tradestalls are a mix of related and unrelated objects to the show. The Willem-Alexander Pavilion specialises in exhibititng tulips and during the last ten days it hosts the world’s largest lily show. The Beatrix Pavilion displays orchids, anthuriums and bromelias. The three pavilions have a total of 500 exhibitors. Plants, indoors and outdoors, are clearly labelled.

The theme of this year’s show is simply Holland and there is a special ‘mosaic’ garden of bulbs depicting traditional Dutch town houses. While there are some show gardens, the bulb plantings provided by 100 commercial growers are the main feature of the gardens. There are permanent gardens: the historic garden and the Japanese garden. Other themed gardens change each year, this year the theme gardens were: the Family Garden, designed by Rob Verlinden, a TV celebrity gardener; Love Garden; Recycle Garden; Health Garden; Cookery Garden; Dutch Cow Garden; and the Bee Happy Garden. There are permanent and changing sculptures in the garden; set within the bulb displays and shrubberies. Children are catered for with several play areas for different age groups, a scavenger hunt and a small area with animals.

6: Associated/Parallel Events 



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A boat trip around the Keukenhof bulb fields and Dutch landscape. You can rent them at the dock near the Windmill in Keukenhof park. Duration: 50-75 min Price: Adults – €8; Children (4-11 years) €4; Children (0-3 years) Free Fly over Keukenhof in a DC-3 Dakota From April 12 – May 5 you can book your flight to get a bird’s eye view of Keukenhof Gardens on a DC-3 Dakota plane. The plane leaves from the Amsterdam Schiphol-East airport at the KLM Jet Center Price: €125/person The annual Flower Parade starts on Saturday May 5, 2014 at 9am and goes until 9pm. 20 floats and 30 cars decorated with flowers drive along a 42 kilometer route from Noordwijk to Haarlem. Price: free! Tip: The parade does not actually pass through Keukenhof but visitors will be allowed to leave the park and re-enter to see the parade. The parade will pass Keukenhof around 3:30pm.

7: Awards There does not appear to an award system, probably as the displays are provided by commercial companies.

8: Exhibitor Terms & Conditions No information. Contact Keukenhof direct.

9: Exhibitor Contracts No information. Contact Keukenhof direct.

10: Show History From: http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/footer/about-keukenhof/ 10.1 History: Keukenhof has a rich history. For centuries, the area was part of the estate of Teylingen Castle. During the 15th century, game was hunted and food collected in the region's untamed woods and dunes, for the kitchens of the castle of Jacoba van Beieren. This is where ‘Keukenhof’ gets its name, which means ‘kitchen courtyard’ in Dutch. Landscape architects Jan David Zocher and his son Louis Paul Zocher, who also designed Amsterdam's Vondelpark, redesigned the castle gardens in 1857. That park, in the English landscape style, still forms the basis of Keukenhof. In 1949, the Mayor of Lisse joined forces with a number of flower bulb growers to organise the very first flower exhibition. It soon developed into an annual event. Every spring, Keukenhof now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the world for the most beautiful and flower-packed day out. 10.2 Mission and objectives: Now and in the future, Keukenhof is and will be the international and independent showcase of the Dutch floricultural industry, with a special emphasis on flowering bulbs. Keukenhof is the platform for the Dutch floricultural sector. For the exhibitors and participants in the flower shows, we provide a superb showcase for their bulbs, flowers and plants. That's what makes Keukenhof an excellent opportunity to network and meet business contacts. Trade events for growers are also organised regularly. Keukenhof has strong links with all of the relevant organisations in the floricultural and tourist sectors.

10.3 Organisation: Stichting Internationale Bloemententoonstelling Keukenhof is run by an Executive Board. The Management Team includes the director and the managers of the Sales & Marketing, Park Management and Finance & Administration departments. Throughout the year, there are 50 employees working at Keukenhof. During the opening period, this number increases to 750. Keukenhof itself focuses on running the park, but certain specialist services are outsourced. Our partners in catering, retail, parking, cleaning and staff recruitment work closely with our own staff to ensure you have an unforgettable day at Keukenhof.

10.4 Preferred suppliers: Keukenhof would not be possible without our preferred suppliers. Almost a hundred growers and exporters of flower bulbs showcase their very best flowering bulbs at Keukenhof. We have alliances with numerous different companies. A total of 100 preferred suppliers and 500 flower growers place their very best products at our disposal. Keukenhof is given worldwide promotion together with other leading tourist attractions.

11: Marketing There is extensive national and international marketing to support the show. It is believed that the substantial increase in visitor’s number in 2014 resulted from increased marketing, particularly in Germany and the United Kingdom.

In the UK, adverts are placed in related gardening and ‘life style’ magazines and national and regional newspapers. There are many coach and air tours organised for the show as well as competitions on the radio for free trips. The web site shows that there are designated contacts for group tours and publicity information for anyone giving a talk/presentation on the gardens. There is a separate login for the press. As with many other large shows, celebrities appear to play an important role in attracting visitors, in this case a Dutch gardener/designer who is well-known through TV programmes. There is some coverage in the UK through programmes such as the BBC’s Gardener’s World.

12: Site Photographs (photos dated 2007 are from an earlier visit by the author) Photo 1: Using public transport, the queue at Amsterdam airport for the connecting bus to the Keukenhof. A joint ticket gives rail travel, bus connection and entrance ticket. The wait at the airport was 45 minutes on a weekday.

Photo 2: Past the main gate ticket collection, there is a plaza that provides a sense of arrival with water feature, toilets and information point.

Photo 3: A formal avenue of trees and bulb planting leads into the main display areas. Sculptures are displayed along this route.

Photo 4: Opportunities for visitor participation and photo opportunities.

Photo 5: The first encountered tradestall is for souvenirs including Dutch cheese.

Photo 6-8: The historic garden is at the end of the long formal approach. Photo 8, left, shows the difference a few weeks and variable garden makes to an outdoor show. (2007)

Photo 9: Plan of the historic garden with a brief explanation in Dutch and English.

Photo 10-12: Exit from the historic garden leads to the floral mosaic, but past its prime! Photo 13, right, shows the mosaic at its peak (from Keukenhof website).

Photo 13: The Oranje Nassau Pavilion is the main permanent exhibition hall; there is a formal garden and water feature to the front.

Photo 14-16: Flower and water avenue to the front of the Oranje Nassau Pavilion. There is a major fountain at the terminus. Planting would need to be changed throughout the show period for such a dominant feature. Photo 17, left, 2007.

Avenue

Photo 17: There is a raised/stepped seating area overlooking the fountain and a small kiosk selling drinks and snacks.

Photo 18: Main children’s play area

Photo 19: There is a play area for younger children near the main/adventure play area, and an area with small farm animals

Photo 20-22: The Dutch Cow Garden uses the basic colours of the Frisian cow, black and white, in the hard materials and planting.

Photo 23: From the 2007 show, this informal bedding scheme is a way of extending the flowering period. Single colours and species will have a much shorter season.

Photo 24-25: Same view point: left 2007 and right 2014, shows different planting schemes using different varieties muscari and narcissus. There are photographs of various years on numerous websites showing a constant changing arrangement, but generally different varieties of the same genus.

Photo 26-27: The windmill is a popular feature as you can go up to the balcony and view both the gardens and the surrounding bulb fields. There are coloured streamers in the trees as art installations. Both photos 2007

Photo 28: Not part of the Holland theme as this was in 2007, but it shows one of the problems of managing bulbs to flower together. The US flag has the stripes, but not the stars.

Photo 29: The sales shop for the gardens have several large scale floral arrangements in urns. Bulbs can be ordered for late summer and autumn postal delivery

Photo 30-32: Displays in the three pavilions; the lilies not quite in bloom

Photo 33: Most tradestalls were selling bulbs, plants and horticultural products; there were some unrelated stands.

Photo 34-37: Probably the most spectacular display using bold and single bands of colour under a thin woodland leaf canopy that only happens in the spring. All 2007

Photo 38: The Flower Parade which passes the Keukenhof but does not go through it. There are numerous sponsors for the parade (from Keukenhof web site).

13: Organisation and Contacts Keukenhof Stationsweg 166a 2161 AM Lisse The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)252 465 555 Fax: +31 (0)252 465 565 [email protected] www.keukenhof.nl

14: Sponsorship 14.1 Bulbs and Flowers: There are around 100 bulb companies who provide their bulbs for planting and display; 87 are listed in the guide book and on-line. Another 500 exhibitors are the flower growers in the three pavilions. 14.2 Flower Parade: There are numerous sponsors of the parade including commercial growers and hotel groups.

15: Economic Impact No specific information

16: Interviews Contacted, but no response

17: Summary & Conclusions 17.1: Location and General: The show site is about 20 kilometres from Amsterdam and located in the main bulb growing area of Holland. There is good public access, although it is a slow trip by train and bus via the airport. As the show has been operating for 65 years, there are few problems in dealing with large numbers of visitors except at peak times and specific viewpoints. 17.2 Exhibitions:      

The exhibitions are spread out over the site and are developed in a number of different settings from woodland enclosures to open areas. There are very different atmospheres to the different areas. Plants are well labelled but discretely marked There is no sense of hard selling Three exhibitions have distinctly different plants themes on exhibit Good range of food/drink facilities and seating around the park

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There are some good visitor participation activities, particularly for children with play areas and farm animals Large wooden shoes are popular tourist features for photographs The Oranje Nassau pavilion being the largest, is also the main arena for craft stalls The exhibits, while similar each year, are redesigned to encourage repeat visits

17.3 Issues    

Some areas can get very crowded; restaurants and toilets are busy at peak times There is a level of good luck in terms of the weather and how good the gardens will look at any given time Internal exhibits normally have someone to answer questions, this is not the case for the outdoor exhibits Tripadvisor on the Flower Parade: ‘Gorgeous, but avoid flower parade day’. This is due to the very large crowds.