Heritage conscious grower saves site from demolition

HILLEGOM – The flowering bulb industry has put the Bollenstreek, a fairly compact district south of the Schiphol International Airport, on the worldwide horticultural map. Anyone with even a remote interest in the industry knows where to find this famed district. Less known is the fact that the industry is no longer contained to one area, acreages far and wide grow tulips and a range of bulbs while housing and industry are encroaching the traditional tulips fields. Many of the remaining bulb farms have modernized while others have been given other usages or were torn down. This is much to the chagrin of bulb grower Arent Veldhuyzen van Zanten, whose historic family operation Kwekerij Veelzorg (the name translates as Nursery Intensive Care) was kept in its original condition. He successfully opposed city hall’s redevelopment plans and fought for his plan to restore the site as a cultural heritage site. The municipality now is modifying its zoning to keep Kwekerij Veelzorg, with its monumental building, spared for future generations.