Historische Tuin for a Historische Thyme

I did mix Dutch and English a bit in this title.  I played with the two languages and a play on the words time and thyme (a garden plant). Hopefully it didn’t confuse my readers too much.

We headed out on Friday (the Hubby took a day off, he is working from home so this time outside of the house was needed.  It felt like a day off for both of us) to Aalsmeer to the Historische Tuin (Historic Garden) where I normally volunteer each summer.

As you might have guessed normal is not normal and volunteer work is also affected.  The issue with gardens that depend almost solely on volunteer workers to maintain the areas is that the garden (nature) doesn’t know there is a lurking virus.  The workers (volunteers) are mostly over the age of 65 and thus puts them into the high risk group.  Since I have underlying conditions that could also place me in a higher risk group, I contacted the manager in early March and told him that I would not be coming to volunteer until the rules were relaxed a bit.

That started to happen today.  All grade school children to age 12 went back to school! Could you hear the sigh of relief from parents? The Dutch ministry is going step by step on reopening the country.  The biggest near future issues that need to be solved will be with public transport, the aviation industry, and large events like soccer games or music concerts.

I made an appointment to tour the garden and take some pictures for this blog.  Being the only one (with the Hubby) inside the gardens was a real treat since we haven’t been out much since this all started in March.  The gardens have been working with a small skeleton crew of regular volunteers since the Prime Minister shut the country down.  Some activities like the yearly plant sale were cancelled.  But, like I stated, the garden continues to need attention and I was ready to see how bad things were with the limited work force.

I was surprised! It wasn’t the normal for this time of the year but it was in great shape considering the limits that were placed on this institution with the start of the virus.

Here are a few of the pictures of the gardens as it looks right now.  There is not a date as of right now if or when it will be opened to the public, but when it does I would like to ask each of you (if possible) to visit.

 

As we finished with our photo tour the Hubby and I ordered “take away” coffee and scones from the Historische Tuin Restaurant which has had to find a new way to keep in business while still maintaining social distancing. We enjoyed the backdrop of the Aalsmeer windmill and watched the boats on the canal as we sat on the bench outside the Historische Tuin.  It was a perfect outing for a day off of work in these strange new times.

 

A special thanks to Historische Tuin Garden Manager, Dick Maarsen who approved my afternoon of photojournalism at the Historische Tuin. He and his team of limited volunteers will continue to maintain the gardens until they reopen sometime in the future.  

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