STORY | KEUKENHOF

Two Families and Two Best Friends at Keukenhof

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Published 8 November 2026

Two best friends smiling among white and yellow daffodils at Keukenhof, the blonde one hugging her friend from behind

Brooke and Natalie have been best friends since first grade, and their parents have been friends for almost as long. This spring, the two families flew over from the US together for a week in the Netherlands. So on a mid-April afternoon, I photographed two families at Keukenhof: four parents, two best friends and Brooke’s younger brother, Caleb.

They booked a tulip photoshoot at Keukenhof for all seven of them. Before the day, I planned a short route around what was in bloom that week, so all they had to do was show up.

Two Best Friends in the Keukenhof Woods

We began just after three in the woods, where daffodils grow in wide drifts under tall trees. The branches above were still almost bare, and the sky stayed a soft white all afternoon. Keukenhof has more quiet corners like this one, away from the busiest paths.

Two young women in long skirts standing in a sea of yellow daffodils under tall, almost bare trees in the Keukenhof woods — The daffodil woods at Keukenhof, just after three

First, Brooke and Natalie walked a bark path between the flowers, hand in hand. Then they sat down on a bench among white daffodils and simply talked, the way they always do. That is when the frame at the top of this story happened: Brooke threw her arms around Natalie, and both of them smiled straight at me.

Friends in pink and cream maxi skirts walking hand in hand along a bark path lined with white and yellow daffodils

Two friends sitting close on a bench in the Keukenhof woods, white daffodils sharp in the foreground and dark shrubs behind

Two Families, One Hour

Next, the parents joined in. Natalie stood between her mom and dad among the daffodils, and one remark from her father made all three of them laugh. After that, it was the turn of Brooke’s family of four. Caleb had decided early on that photos were not really his thing.

One of the two families at Keukenhof, a daughter laughing between her mother in a striped cardigan and her father

Family of four among the daffodils, a boy pointing up at his big sister while their parents laugh beside them — Among the daffodils, around half past three

Brother and sister dancing with their arms in the air among bright yellow daffodils, both laughing under tall trees

So I gave him one small job: make your sister laugh. He took it seriously. A minute later, the two of them were dancing among the daffodils with their arms in the air. Moments like this are why two families at Keukenhof never feel like one long group photo to me.

A Wooden Walkway Over the Water

In another part of the garden, a narrow wooden walkway crosses a dark pond, with red and yellow tulips on both banks. On the way there, Brooke walked a brick path between hyacinths and yellow flowers. On the walkway itself, her cream satin skirt did what it was made for, so I waited for each turn to make the fabric fly.

Young woman in a cream satin maxi skirt walking a curving brick path between hyacinths and yellow and white flowers

Cream satin skirt flaring out as a young woman twirls on a wooden walkway over a dark pond, red and yellow tulips behind

Natalie took her time with the flowers instead. She leaned into a bed of daffodils to smell a single red tulip, and I came in close.

Dark-haired young woman leaning into a bed of yellow daffodils to smell a red tulip, a lawn and visitors soft behind her

Later, the two friends met in the middle of the walkway, holding hands as they had in the woods.

Two friends holding hands in the middle of a wooden walkway over the water, beds of red and yellow tulips at Keukenhof

Afterwards, the parents took their turns there too. Natalie’s mom kissed her cheek so suddenly that Natalie closed her eyes and laughed. Her dad simply put an arm around her.

Mother in a striped cardigan kissing her laughing daughter on the cheek in a tulip garden, the daughter’s eyes closed

Father in an olive shirt and khaki trousers with his arm around his daughter on a wooden walkway by the tulip beds — The walkway over the pond, just after four

Red Tulips and a Last Selfie

For the last minutes, we found a bed of red and pink tulips in front of a dark green hedge. I photographed through the flowers, so the tulips closest to my lens turned into soft color. Brooke sat among them with her chin in her hand.

Blonde young woman with her chin in her hand among red and pink tulips at Keukenhof, blurred blooms in the foreground

Soft pink tulips blurred in the foreground with a smiling young woman among them and a dark green hedge behind — Red and pink tulips, ten past four

Young woman crouching among pink and red tulips, tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling down, a dark green hedge behind

Natalie crouched down among the flowers and tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling to herself. A few frames later, the hour was over.

At a quarter past four, we said goodbye on the main path, where the afternoon crowds were walking. Before that, all seven of them squeezed into a selfie with me, with Caleb in the middle. Two families at Keukenhof, and two best friends with an afternoon to look back on together.

Selfie of two families at Keukenhof, seven smiling people crowded behind a woman with glasses on a path lined with red tulips

Wondering what to wear for a day among the flowers? My guide on what to wear to Keukenhof shows what these two families chose.

Planning a spring day out with your family? Discover how a tulip photoshoot at Keukenhof works.