The Story

At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the landscape
Vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up a glorious technicolor patchwork
Yet far from being a child's sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern Netherlands in the middle of the tulip season

With more than ten thousand hectares devoted to the cultivation of these delicate flowers, the Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of giddy colors as the tulips burst into life

The bulbs were planted in late October and early November, and these colorful creations are now ready to be picked and sold as bunches of cut flowers in florists and supermarkets

More than nine billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the USA and Germany

Their dazzling colors are thanks to the years in the 17th century when 'tulip mania' swept the globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune

But like a rainbow, this colorful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon
When the flowers are gone, the land will be cultivated for a rather more mundane crop of vegetables