The flower bulb region. A colorful area in the province of South Holland. The beautiful fields of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths attract more than a million visitors every year and both flowers and bulbs are important export products for The Netherlands.
But how do the bulbs get on the land and the flowers in your vase? In this series we follow 11 ‘bollenjongens’ for one year. Young entrepreneurs in the flower bulb region, who are busy all year long on their land and in the barn.
In the first episode, the ‘bollenjongens’ (bulbs boys) show how they prepare the land for the new planting season.
You may have noticed that at the end of the summer more and more grasslands arise in the flower bulb region. Where there used to be tulips and daffodils, you can now cycle along the meadows. Ruben explains why this grass is sown.
In addition, you increasingly see bulb growers flooding their entire plots, which is also a preparation for the new season. Bart explains why he does this. And those ‘lakes’ also turn out to be a safe place for geese that stay there at night.
And we are with Allan in Lisse where his land is being plowed. And that is very different than in the past, you can see on images from 1950.
Further on in this broadcast an answer to the question of what the ‘bollenjongens’ prefer to be called: growers, entrepreneurs, young farmers or bulb farmers. And why is the Veenenburgerlaan between Lisse and Hillegom actually higher in the landscape?
And finally, the ‘bollenjongens’ describe themselves.
