The area around Lisse, in west central Netherlands, is now covered in fields of tulips. They are grown primarily for bulbs, but some gardens are of the pick-your-own variety.

Keukenhof, a 32-hectare park in Lisse, is probably the most popular tulip garden in the Netherlands, where 7 million tulip bulbs are planted each year.

Fields of flowers bloom in colourful rows in Keukenhof garden in Lisse. Credit:AP

The best time to see the tulips is in April and the beginning of May.

The tulip craze has spread across the world, too. Germany also cultivates tulips for the bulbs. At Degenhardt-Sellmann Spezialkulturen in Schwaneberg, Germany, about 40 hectares of tulips are grown.