Tulip portrait
Ireland’s very first tulip portrait can now be seen in the National Botanic Gardens until midMay! It is a portrait of Irish literary legend, James Joyce measures 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 make up the portrait.
Spring lectures
The tulip portrait formed the inspiration for a series of lectures to be held whilst the portrait is in bloom. The lectures were linked to either the tulip or to James Joyce: the two components of the tulip portrait. They touched on various themes such as freedom of artistic rights; the role of flowers in the Ulysses novel, and innovation within the horticulture sector in Keukenhof.
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 “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’.
National Botanic Gardens
The tulip portrait can now be seen in the National Botanic Gardens until mid-May! The National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin are open from Mondays to Fridays from 9 am to 5 pm and on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays from 10 am to 6 pm.
Source: GardenGuide News Room
