A series of short portraits of our very own flower bulb experts.

Carlos van der Veek

When you meet Carlos, you know right away that you are dealing with a passionate flower bulb expert. Surrounding the 150 year old farmhouse he lives in, there is plenty of space. The bulk of this is used for growing bulbs, but closer to home, spread out over several small plots of land, a few barns, a greenhouse, one finds a truly unique collection of flower bulbs.

Carlos is one of Holland's most renowned daffodil specialists. An inquisitive person, an innovator, but also self-willed, which is not a bad quality for a hybridizer. He lives his live according to the seasons and prefers working close to home. Bringing different bulbs together and coming up with new combinations is also one of his hobby's. In spring the fields around his house look like a true Keukenhof

Eric Breed

Eric: 'flower bulbs are my friends, my hobby, my living, my everything.' He is a true plant lover and a keen gardener in his own right. He craves for knowledge and regularly follows in the footsteps of the old plant collectors. Almost every year he and his botanical friends organize trips to look at flower bulbs in their native habitats. The pictures of wild tulips in the Amsterdam Tulip Museum are all taken by Eric and his fellow travelers.

Bulbs always fascinated him, and not just tulips and daffodils. Eric has a taste for everything. The choice among flower bulbs is infinite and for that reason his curiosity will never be completely put to rest. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. That knowledge goes a long way and if he doesn't know the answer, he consults his extensive flower bulb library. Eric enjoys being invited to give talks, in particular to other plant enthusiast from far and wide.

Jeroen van den Hoek

With Jeroen flower bulbs are in his genes. His father founded the well-known Van den Hoek Bulb Forcing Test Centre, and Jeroen follows in his footsteps. He is responsible for various new forcing methods for both the cut flower industry and for growing bulbs in pots, the latter is still today the focus of his attention.

Every bulb that he feels is worth a try, he plants in a pot. 'If only I could combine this Tulip with that Muscari,' according to him the possibilities are endless. Still, it is quite hard to plant different bulbs in a container and make them bloom at exactly the same time. This is where his talent kicks in. Bulbs are Jeroen's tools to create beautiful pictures that touch people's hearts at different seasons in the year. He even won quite a few prices with his pots of bulbs. It is just his thing, he enjoys it, and then work becomes a hobby with creativity taking care of the rest.

Sjoerd van Eeden

The family from his father's side has been growing flower bulbs for generations, but he himself first decided to work as a history teacher. It is no surprise, therefore, that his interest in flower bulbs equals that of his love for history. Not a bad combination, of course, for somebody in charge of the Amsterdam Tulip Museum and its flower bulb shop.

Sjoerd: 'I am afraid that in the museum the history teacher quite often gets the better of me, because almost every bulb is connected to an interesting story.' He also likes to put his enthusiasm for bulbs on paper. The article on Colchicums is a good example. Visitors will always be able to find at least a few of those stories laying around. Living in the centre of Amsterdam, he does not have a garden. He describes himself as an indoor gardener. Most of the bulbs he forces into bloom are grown in pots or in water filled glass containers.