Tulip portrait
Ireland’s very first tulip portrait will be on show in the National Botanic Gardens this spring. It is a portrait of Irish legend, James Joyce and will measure some 6 meters across. This green work of art is the result of Dutch-Irish horticultural cooperation with support from the Dutch embassy. 23,000 tulip and grape hyacinth bulbs will make up the portrait.
Spring lectures
To celebrate the blooming of the tulip portrait, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands organizes a series of lectures in cooperation with the National Botanic Gardens. The lectures will touch on a wide variety of themes such as innovation in horticulture, the life of James Joyce, and freedom of artistic rights.
Molly Bloom tulip
Last year, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands organised a tulip naming competition for a white & lilac-coloured tulip, specially cultivated for Ireland. The winning entry of the competition was the name Molly Bloom, a character from James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The name was suggested by Mary McClure from Limerick. From there, the idea of having a tulip portrait, to honour James Joyce, ‘bloomed’.
Details:
To attend a lectures, please visit : www.thenetherlandsembassy.ie for more information. Plan a visit to the National Botanic Gardens this spring to see James Joyce’s portrait in bloom!
Source: HortiTrends News Room
