Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Sint Maartenszee

Unlike other years - as a result of the corona crisis - we only could visit the flower bulb fields in the so called Kop van Noord-Holland for just one day. Yet we were able to enjoy the exceptional splendour of colours: from white to almost black !! Our favourite bulb field this year was the bright orange (= Dutch) coloured field adjacent to the nature reserve the Wildrijk .

The so called Kop van Noord-Holland is the northern part of the province of North Holland: an authentic area, surrounded by three coasts: North Sea, Wadden Sea and IJsselmeer. The Kop van Noord-Holland is also the largest tulip area in the Netherlands. Colourful flowers and bulb fields as far as the eyes can see. From mid-March to mid-May the region turns into one big sea of flowers. It starts with the crocus season, then daffodils and hyacinths appear and finally the tulips show their different colours from mid-April until the beginning of May. In addition to the vast bulb fields the Kop van Noord-Holland features a couple of very interesting sights: Hortus Bulborum in Limmen with hundreds of different species of blooming bulbs and the Poldertuin in Anna Paulowna, a public park with 220.000 bulbs. Thanks to the long springs with cool nights this part of the country is extremely suitable for tulip growing. The sandy soil in the polders is constantly drained. This creates ideal conditions for the bulbs.

The Wildrijk is one of the smallest (800 x 240 meters) forests in the Netherlands. Yet this nature reserve is one of the most beautiful spots of the province of North Holland, especially in spring. During that time of the year it is surrounded by colourful bulb fields. The forest is covered with a blue carpet of thousands and thousands of wild bluebells, with some pink or white species. The flowers alternate with the fresh green of ferns. Other special plants also grow here; this fauna owes the Wildrijk to the clean water, which is led directly from the nearby dunes along the North Sea. The Wildrijk is located in the Zijperpolder , where in the past wealthy merchants from Amsterdam owned wooded country estates. Later, during the construction of the Noordhollandsch Kanaal , a lot of forest was cut down by workers. In 1940 the area came into the possession of Landschap Noord-Holland , a Dutch foundation which aims to protect the landscape and nature of the province of North Holland.

The ‘Wildrijk’ is a nature reserve between the villages of Sint Maartenszee and Sint Maartensvlotbrug. Personally I consider it as one of the hidden gems of the province of North Holland. Sint Maartenszee is located in the Zijperpolder . In the past, several wealthy Amsterdam merchants owned beautiful wooded estates in the west of the Zijperpolder, nearby the dunes along the North Sea. The ‘Wildrijk’ also dates from that time - the 16th century - and was a landscaped estate. During the excavation of the Noordhollandsch kanaal many pieces of forest were cut down by workers. Fortunately the ‘Wildrijk’ has been spared. Nowadays it is a fairly small forest; especially in spring it is almost a fairytale to walk around (PiP4 and 5) between the numerous blooming wild hyacinths; most of them are blue (PiP1), but there also pink (PiP2) and white ones. Besides the hyacinths, the ‘Wildrijk’ also offers white daffodils (PiP3) and some other spring flowers.