Friday, February 29, 2008

We Are Here

On the 7th of February Jodi from Bloomingwriter challenged us garden bloggers to write a post (or two) about where in the gardening world you are. Well, that question is very easy to answer so here goes:
The Netherlands can be found in Europe, in between the cream coloured Germany and the yellow coloured Great Britain on this map. The Netherlands is that small beige coloured blob. I'd better show you a bigger pic of my country as it is a bit hard to find, one blink and you missed it. ;-)
Here we are, that's much better. The Bliss garden is situated in Dinteloord, a small over 400 years old village, half an hours' drive from Rotterdam in the southward direction. It's not on this map as it is so small; less than 5000 inhabitants, which makes for a very peaceful village life in the Dutch countryside.


Jodi also asked us to write about something that really tells us where you are in the world. What's really special about your community.
But do I really have too, because I'm thinking you all know far more of the Dutch and the Netherlands than you realise. Because, let's face it,
you've probably drunk it,

and tasted it,
and wore it,
and used it. And if you're a gardener, chances are that you are now
drooling over it.

Through blogging I have discovered that quite a few of you have visited the Netherlands and even if you have never been here, there's a big chance that you've seen my country anyway. How? Well my dear, unless you've spend your entire life in a deep dark hole in the ground you have seen at least one or two of these paintings, depicting my country in such a great way. In a nutshell ; the Netherlands is a mixture of sky, water and land.

Paintings by Jacob and Soloman Ruisdael and Aelbert Cuyp, Dutch Master Painters.
Because of those vast skies, light plays also a very important part as is demonstrated by this painter here.
Rembrandt van Rijn, self portraitsome of his paintings

Nowadays the work of the old Dutch Masters is still very much alive and an inspiration to other artists. They recently made a movie about this painting by Johannes Vermeer, Girl with the Pearl Earring.
We have more famous painters of course and although he's not an old Dutch Master Painter, he is considered by quite a few to be a genius. Here's Vincent (yes, van Gogh) take on the Dutch bulb fields.
And two of his views on pollarded willow trees near the water's edge, something which in my view is quintessentially Dutch.

Even more so than this.
Jan van KesselAnd that's saying something as we've been making cheese since prehistoric times and exporting it since the Middle Ages.

A look at Vincent's sky.
The American singer/songwriter Don Mclean was inspired to write a song about Vincent van Gogh ....... starry, starry night ..... (Vincent by Don Mclean)

I leave you with some gorgeous Dutch eye candy from long ago. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Jan van Huysum
Rachel Ruysch
Vincent van Gogh

copyright 2008 Y.E.W. Heuzen

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wat heb jij Nederland mooi in beeld gebracht....dat levert vast extra toeristen op...;-))
Goed weekend gewenst in dit veelzijdige landje :-)

Anonymous said...

Very nice, YE. You have a lot of history in the Netherlands, as I saw for myself when I was in Amsterdam last summer. It's a lovely country.

But...I really was hoping for more about your particular village. I don't have much of an idea of what a 400-year-old village in the Netherlands is like, and I was hoping you'd show us the local scene. Maybe in a follow-up post?

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Welcome to Bliss!

* Marl1: hihi, misschien moet ik commissie gaan vragen. ;-) Jij ook een fijn weekend!

* Pam: the last 2 months I've been fighting off 3 viral and 2 bacterial infections and am still in the process of recovery. I just don't have the energy or the time ( there's so much to do)at the mo to go out and about in my village to take pics for a blog about Dinteloord. So I made one of my country instead. ;-)

But not to worry I'll do a post about Dinteloord too, but it will have to wait I'm afraid.

Annie in Austin said...

Dutch eye candy, indeed! Thanks, Yolanda. A more local look would be fun sometime, but for the present may you mend and be well again.

Now I have Starry Starry Night in my head - we used to play that music when Van Gogh was the subject of art presentations for grammar school kids. It always tears me up.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Frances, said...

What a wonderful post about your great culture, art and bulbs and beer and cheese, it sounds like heaven! Do get well and tell us another time about your village, we are hungry for information about your particular part of the world. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Frances at Faire Garden

Green thumb said...

Hi Yolanda, Thanks for presenting such a lovely view of your place; well any view and it would still have been lovely as Netherlands, I've heard, is a great country with a rich history.
Many of the movies here are shot in Switzerland and Netherlands and the endless rows of beautiful flowers featured in them used to take my breath away. And now, here I am interacting with someone belonging to that very place; i love the power of internet.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

What a visual feast! Amsterdam is my favorite city in the world. Unfortunately, it doesn't like me - all that water makes for a lot of mold & my allergies go crazy there. You left out 1 of my favorite artists, M.C. Escher. I went to the museum in Den Haag to see his work. It was fantastic.

Robin's Nesting Place said...

You have had such a difficult time this winter, with so much sickness. I do hope you are on the road to recovery now and will be completely healthy soon.

Thanks for the enjoyable post and the eye candy!

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Greetings from Southern California...I just found your blog via your comment left over on Marion's blog from Wales. I was drawn to the beautiful pansies in your profile photo! I see we share a love of cats, and possibly art...what a wonderful lot of information you have shared with us about the Netherlands! I've never been, but my son spent a couple months there a few years ago and loved the people and the place!

I also love gardens, but know next to nothing about gardening itself. Perhaps I will learn a thing or two from your blog....I'll be back for more visits.

Sara

Anonymous said...

Wonderful images! You are making me miss Holland... Amsterdam is our favourite holiday destination! We hope to see more of the country next time we go. I hope you feel better soon. Take it easy :o)

Aiyana said...

Great reminder of things I knew about the Netherlands, and a good lesson on the things I didn't. I love reading the posts on the Garden Bloggers Geography Project!
Aiyana

Anonymous said...

Oh, those tulips are breathtaking! Lucky you! I'll let everyone know what mine look like in East Texas once they bloom, but I'm sure they won't look anything like I just saw here!

VP said...

Lovely! We honeymooned in Amsterdam in 1984 (early March), so have very happy memories of The Netherlands...

Anonymous said...

Hallo Yolanda,

ik heb je blog pas vandaag ontdekt en direct onder Favorieten gezet. Je post over Holland maakt me weer helemaal trots op ons landje! Super!

vriendelijke groet,

Elzi

Anonymous said...

I'll be in your neck of the woods mid-April. I have reservations on a barge canal cruise/bike tour departing from Amsterdam and visiting, throughout the week, Haarlemmermeer, Keukenhof, Gouda, Dordrecht, Willemstad, Antwerp, Dendermonde, Ghent and ending up in Bruges. Are nearby any of these cities? It's hard to tell how far one hour south from Rotterdam is on the map I'm looking at.

We've been in the Netherlands before (Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges) and have relished every trip. This time, by barge & bike, we'll be able to see it in a more leisurely pace.

Ewa said...

Dear Yolanda,
great post, so many beautiful pictures. those sea's of flowers look great, and paintings you have collected are so beautiful.
Thanks for all that beauty with Dutch flavour ;)

I wish you good and fast recovery. Take care and be good to yourself - cut some ambition for coming weeks :)

Anonymous said...

Fantastic entry, Yolanda, about the Netherlands. The Garden Bloggers Geography project sounds very interesting as well!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Yolanda, what a wonderful post about the Netherlands. I love all the paintings. I will look at them several times for sure.

I do hope you get well soon. It is such a bad time of year to be so sick. Is there any good time? No but it is a shame not to be in good health for spring. You don't want to miss any of that beautiful light.

Garden Cats + Crafts said...

Besser, schöner und informativer kann man sein eigenes Land nicht vorstellen als Du, Yolanda.
Hast Du irgendetwas vergessen, was zu den Niederlanden gehört? Nein, bestimmt nicht. Alles was ich erwartet habe ist auch da.

Ein wunderschöner Post über Deine Heimat. Vielen Dank dafür.

Schönes Wochenende und liebe Grüße,
Birgit
PS: Wir erwarten hier wieder mal einen fürchterlichen Sturm und in der nächsten Woche soll der Winter zurück kehren.

Barbara said...

Great and wonderful post which also shows your love to your country. You mentioned everything I expected to see and read! I love the old Dutch paintings too...
Hope you are getting better by now!

Chookie said...

Thank you for the lovely pictures! I grew up on Botany Bay and now live in a flat part of Sydney -- I know what you mean about sky! Do you feel hemmed-in amongst buildings or mountains? Your cheeses have made me feel hungry, too!

Unknown said...

Oh course this was a wonderful romp, Yolanda, and I especially like how you drew in the Dutch painters and their interpretation of your land. As you know, I"ve yet to visit the Netherlands, but as a Canadian I feel very close to your country, in part because I've met many Dutch people who moved here to Nova Scotia (mostly in the Agricultural community that I'm connected to). And of course from reading Bliss for almost a year, I"ve learned even more. So thank you so much for taking part in our project!

Carol Michel said...

The Netherlands is a beautiful place, indeed. No wonder the Dutch Masters were so inspired to paint. I don't drink beer, but trust you that the Heinken's is good.

Cheers and get well soon,
Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Anonymous said...

Zó, je hebt ons mooie landje weer even op de kaart gezet (want er zijn nog altijd mensen die niet weten waar Nederland ligt, laat staan dat het bestaat!)
De foto's van mijn geboortestreek zorgen ervoor dat ik ze weer ruik die overheerlijke bolbloemen!
Ik ga zo even aan mijn eenzame hyacinth ruiken in de tuin mmmm!;-)
Leuk log!
fijn weekend, groeten, Marian

Karin said...

What a nice idea - writing about your own country and village. I've been to Netherlands and know about most of the things but it was really nice to get to know where the garden is situated. And I'm in to art and it's always interesting to read about different painters. The picutures are beautiful! Take care, have a nice weekend and kram from south-west of Sweden. :)

Kylee Baumle said...

First of all, PLEASE GET WELL SOON! (If not sooner!) I've been to many places in Europe, but not the Netherlands, unfortunately. I loved the art you presented. It took me back to my college days and my Art Appreciation class.
I always think of Hans Brinker and The Silver Skates (book and movie) when I think of the Netherlands, too.

Sharon said...

What a wonerful post! Thanks for sharing.

Ruth Welter said...

Hi Yolanda, I loved seeing your part of the world. I was just thinking the other day, that I would love to do a post on my part of the world as well, it is a nice idea.

I'm a huge Van Gogh fan and I also love, love, love Vermeer!!!

Anonymous said...

Mooie presentatie van ons kikkerstaatje :-) Voor veel buitenlanders is Nederland toch vooral Amsterdam en jij laat nog wat meer zien.

Sue Swift said...

When I was in Aachen at Christmas they were advertising spring trips to the Dutch bulbfields. i didn't make it this year, but maybe next ...

Piondröm said...

One day I will go to Nederlands, I think it seams to be a wonderful contry.Amsterdam whith the kanal and houses are beautiful.We have bout some Helleborus from Holland and we get them yesturday, real nice plants.
Ken

Curmudgeon said...

What a wonderful post. I enjoyed your Garden bloggers Geography Project very much. Always appreciate any chance to feast my eyes on wonderful art. What are the lavender flowers in your pictures? Hyacinths? The shape is different than tulips. The area where I live grows a lot of tulips also. The entire month of April is Tulip Festival around here! I'm in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest of the US.

Matron said...

Thanks again for a wonderful blog! What a rich culture you have. Those Dutch old master paintings are some of my favourite of all time!

Anonymous said...

I love cheese and tulips...

Sigrun said...

Spitze, Yolanda!!

Das sind die Niederlande pur, einfach wunderschön gemacht!

Sigrun

Anonymous said...

mooi stuke holland promotie !!! k heb vorige week ook zo iets geplaatst , komt het door boer zoekt vrouw dat holland hot is ? gr ina

Kerri said...

I hope you're well on the road to recovery by now Yolander Elizabet. I've always been interested in the Netherlands because I almost married a dutch boy and am still very close to his family :)
Thanks for showing, and telling us a little about your lovely corner of the world. I love those old masters! And the tulips...well, they're wonderful, of course.
Blessings and well wishes going out to you....

Naturegirl said...

Yolanda just beautiful..all these images!Yes there is more than beer and chesse that your country is famous for..I hope to visit one day.I'm coming at you from Arizona..here life is bliss!!SUN HEAT..80F and lots of blossoms!
I'll post in a few days.
hugs NG

Connie said...

Great post! Those bulb fields are a beautiful sight. We have some in the Pacific NW, but I have not been to visit them yet.
I love old vintage paintings....especially of flowers!

A wildlife gardener said...

I am glad you are feeling much better, Yolanda. What a treat was in store for me today when I was catching up with a few posts I've missed.


This post is a wonderful advert for Holland. I fully expect to read about 'Blogger who brought new visitors to her country'! who can resist Vermeer, Van Huysum or Van Gogh? Many a happy hour I have spent in the Rijksmuseum, and in pictuesque Delft.

I enjoyed reading Beverley Nichols infectious account about the merits of having sweet aconites in a garden, as well as being fascinated by so many varieties of colourful hellebores.

The Ice Queen is still with us, freezing both ponds as well as covering the landscape with snow...pretty to look at though :)

Libbys Blog said...

Supberb post, Yolanda. Thoroughly enjoyed finding out more about where you live and what goes on. Thank you!

Tracy said...

Thank you, Yolanda for this breathtaking history-laden and visually stuniing post about The Netherlands! Happy Days ((HUGS))

Anonymous said...

Yolanda,
I am speechless..what a wonderful display about Holland. Besides all the flowers and veggies..products I love from Holland are cheese and herring..
cheers Gisela

Anonymous said...

Wow- that was exciting - specially from a heavy patch below sea- level, like ours! Those bulb fields look amazing - & how wonderful to be surrounded by all that old art - & those cheeses!

LadyLuz said...

Lovely post Yolanda, reminding us all of what a rich culture the Nederlands has.

Hope you are truly on the mend now.
Love. P.

Tira said...

Another lovely post which certainly brought back memories of my 6 days in Amsterdam-visits to Rembrandt Huis and the Van Gogh museum included. The food, including the wonderful creamy yoghurt, chesses and fruits, and the Indonesian and Greek restaurants and even the little falafel fast food shop were also memorable. We shopped for trendy clothes, and I discovered I actually wear size extra small in Holland! My husband and his friend are tall enough for Dutch sizes, and were thrilled to see big sales, but the European cut pants did not accommodate their rounder butts, and stretched tightly across! It was so funny!

Anonymous said...

Haii..Yolanda..what a beautiful Tulip Flowers...I'm Crazy for that flower.. could you send that tulp for me..?? he..he... just kidding..Het ziet er mooi uit..mjin droom flower dat ik niet kunnen plant here..

Hmm..so sorry als mijn Nederlands spreken is very ugly ..he..he..

Anonymous said...

The girl with the pearl earring is made bij Johannes Vermeer!!!! NOT Frans Hals......