Netherlands is popular, among many other things, for its vast and beautiful tulip gardens. There are plenty of gardens you can choose from. One of the popular regions for both locals and tourists to visit said tulip gardens is in Sassenheim. There are quite a few farms in the region and there are some which host tours.
But I'm not going to show you the tulips. I'm rather going to show you the interesting market one of these farms have.
Also, because there are no tulips since it's not the season.
The market starts way before the garden does. It is a pleasant surprise for those who come inside only hoping for just a farm. I was instantly curious to see what kind of things they sell in this market.
The first thing that caught my eye, well the first two things, were the structure and design.
The entire market is shaped like a maze, much like IKEA, so I spent quite a lot of time inside this small place. Speaking of IKEA, at least this market is more sustainable, upcycles, and promotes nature and learning useful skills like growing a plant.
Above, from the ceiling, a few decorations in the shape of bulb hang with various hand painted designs.
One says "*Lots of fun in the ball", another says "Tulips and rows", and another bulb is decorated with pictures of visitors. Pretty creative, no?
The market is also divided into two main parts - the section which mostly holds second-hand items and souvenirs, and the section with bulbs and roots.
None of the items sold in this section of the market are new. Think of it like a very large YARD SALE. A flea market of sorts, rather. Looks like a collection of items from the neighbouring farmers and residents.
There are some beautiful gems in here if you look hard enough. Many of the items that I looked at were very old, but in excellent condition. However, that is not true for all items. Nevertheless, the cheap prices make up for that.
The entire market is designed with wooden crates that most probably the farmers in the area used. If you take a closer look at some of these crates, you'll notice the date of the "B.V." (company) being registered. In these pictures you can see crates from the late 1990s to as recent as a few years back. Pretty neat concept to reuse these crates.
There are porcelain utensils, tea cup sets, hand painted articles, framed knitted art, porcelain dog figurines, tin boxes, candle holders, mirrors, tables, and even books for sale in here.
The coolest part of this market was the bulbs and roots section. Here you can see the rows of dahlia tubers. You can not only see them, but choose the tubers you want, and handpick
what you want to buy. It is a really cool way of interacting with the farm and a great way for you to take back a plant and grow it yourself.
They have around 10 types of dahlia tubers. I liked the Ballyhoma Ruby, Ruskin Diane and Ryecroft Brenda T. You can also grab a booklet about planting these at the counter. There weren't too many tulip bulbs because of the season, but I got my hands dirty with the Colchicum and Golden Parade tulip bulbs.
Would you buy a bulb or tuber from here?
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