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My enthusiasm for the genus Muscari started on my fathers nursery. I worked there for 10 years, growing Tulips, Crocus, Hyacinths and Muscaris. In the wintertime we forced Muscari on pots for the flower auction. In our search for other crops we tried different Muscaris like Muscari botryoides 'Album'. We grew them on our fields, together with the light blue Muscari that was later named  Muscari armeniacum 'Denim'. Seeing the three together was a thrill for me. The enthusiasm has never left.

I started collecting Muscaris some twelve years ago when I got my first house with a garden. The first grape hyacinths were the easy ones, those that are commercially available. Later I started buying from specialist traders and nurseries. Swapping with fellow enthusiasts in Holland, Germany and England made my collection grow even further. I now grow over 50 different species and varieties.

The garden around the house soon became too small and I rented an allotment in Noordwijk. I started growing Muscari like a bulb grower does. The bulbs are planted every year in nursery beds, 60 cm wide, on rows 10 cm apart. I don't grow more than 10 rows of each variety. The bulbs are lifted every year. I divide them, taking out the bigger ones for swapping, potting up etc. The best bulblets are kept as planting material. Every two years I give the planting material a hotwatertreatment against nematodes. Sickly looking bulbs are taken out and only the ones that grew best are used so that I keep my stock healthy.

The allotment in Noordwijk was changed for another one in Voorhout. The soil there is sandy, free draining and alkaline. It is ideal for growing flower bulbs. I feed the soil every year with horse manure to add not only nutrients but also organic matter. A compost heap also helps keeping the soil in good condition. The allotment is divided up into three parts, one for fruit, one for vegetables and one for Muscaris. I rotate the vegetable and Muscari part every year.

Apart from collecting Muscari's I have a modest collection of Bellevalias. They are related and I thought it was only logical to have Bellevalias added.

Beside growing and maintaining the collection I am gathering as much information about the genus as possible, putting everything in a database. Part of all that information is here on this website. For a  list with all Muscari's in my collection click here. The links don't show the pages in the same frame but as a new page.