Inspired by the paintings and compositions of the 17th Century Dutch artist, Willem van Aelst, designer Carien van Boxtel, has created an incredible, profuse flowering bouquet showpiece, entitled ‘A mysterious Dutch Still Life’ for the annual JUB Holland showcase at the Keukenhof.
An incredible talent, van Aelst (16 May 1627 – 22 May 1683), specialised in still-life paintings featuring flowers, game and insects. His flower still-life paintings are different to those of his predecessors as he arranged his compositions along a diagonal line, rather than painting the conventional, symmetrical bouquets. Moreover, he did not light them evenly, opting instead for strong contrasts of light and dark – lending tension and dynamism to his paintings. Works by his hand are on show in the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, among others.
Inspired by the Dutch Golden Age artist, van Boxtel used a diverse mixture of tulips and naturalising bulbs, in a variety of bold hues, softened by the naturalising bulbs to provide that distinct contrast Van Aelst is known for. Tulips in vibrant red, crimson and pink hues provide the focus, studded by the impressive textures and colours of the likes of fritillaria imperialis ‘Orange Beauty’, all supported by the elegant understory of naturalising bulbs such as tulipa sylvestris and narcissus poeticus.
Intriguing varieties are featured, such as tulipa ‘Fiery Club’, which was chosen not only for its intense shade of red but as a multi-flowering tulip, it uniquely provides several flowers from each bulb. Similar to ‘Queen of Night’, the new tulipa Nightshade, with its deep, rich brown to dark brown hues, provides depth and contrast to the floral composition. In addition to ‘Orange Beauty’, fritillaria persica and fritillaria sewerzowii ‘Green Eyes’ provide height, texture and interest, throughout the incredible showcase.
Planted at an impressive concentration of 350 bulbs per m2, in diverse layers with crocus, tulips, fritillaries and alliums, the display will provide continual interest for visitors from March until the show’s closing in the middle of May.
The annual international showcase takes place at the Keukenhof botanical gardens, located near Amsterdam in Netherlands. For eight weeks each year, an impressive seven million spring bulbs are on display at Keukenhof in celebration of the Dutch floricultural sector. Tulips continue to be the main point of attraction for the worldwide audiences but displays feature a whole range of bulbs, including daffodils and hyacinths.
Van Boxtel, a garden and landscape designer from Zaltbommel in the Netherlands, previously worked as a barrister but retrained to pursue her love of horticulture. Amongst her varied work, she designed a RHS Chelsea trade stand for Schellevis Beton in 2015, designed a community garden in Zaltbommel and worked with Sarah Raven. Since 2019, van Boxtel has been designing the annual showcases for bulb specialist, JUB Holland at the Keukenhof.
The fourth generation, bulb specialist, JUB Holland has been exhibiting at Keukenhof since the first year, providing long-flowering bulb mixtures. For 2025, Keukenhof runs from the 20th of March until the 11th of May.
