Sprawling across the landscape like a gigantic patchwork quilt are the brightly coloured tulip fields of Holland.
Acres upon acres of flowers decorate the countryside in Anna Paulowna, North Holland with fields in pink, yellow, red and purple.
Patchwork: The tulip fields of the Netherlands pictured during the height of the growing season adding splashed of colour to the Dutch landscape
Photographer Normann Szkop captured these beautiful shots from the air in during the multi-coloured height of the growing season in mid-April.
Technicolour fields: Seemingly endless colourblocks of land where farmers grow the national treasure which is the Dutch tulip
Normann explains: “The tulip has come to be a loved symbol of the Netherlands. Many tourists visit the country just to see the bright coloured flower and the astonishing view over the bulb fields.’
The Netherlands is the world’s biggest exporter of tulips and grows three billion bulbs a year
‘The season begins in March with crocuses, followed by the daffodil and the yellow narcissi. In April the hyacinths and tulips blossom to some time in mid May, depending on the weather. Later, in August it is time for the gladioli.
‘Even when spring is over, the Netherlands is still a garden and visitors can enjoy flowers all year round.
‘In the 20th century, the bulb flower business continued to boom, resulting in the establishment of auction and trading houses, large-scale cultivators and cooperatives. Today, The Netherlands exports bulbflowers in large quantities to over a hundred countries worldwide.’
The tulip fields of Anna Paulowna, a municipality in North Holland, attracts thousands of tourists every year who came to watch the colourful plains
More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany.
The tulip season begins in March and lasts until August with several shows held across the country, but the flowers are undoubtedly at their most spectacular at this time of year.
Mother nature’s creation: The gigantic fields of flowers resemble a child’s crayon artwork.
The cultivation of flower bulbs began more than 400 years ago and today Holland produces more than nine billion bulbs every year, of which two thirds are exported overseas.
Evenly distributed, this number would allow for almost two flower bulbs for every person on the planet.
