Tullamore company provides bulbs for tulip portrait of James Joyce

Up to 23,000 tulip and hyacinth bulbs co-sponsored by Tullamore company Beechill Bulbs Ltd are being planted in the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin this week. The massive project will see the bulbs bloom into flowers that reveal a portrait of James Joyce some six metres wide next April. Speaking to the Offaly Independent Damian McHugh of Beechill Bulbs said planting the bulbs began on Tuesday and will continue until Thursday or Friday. The work takes time as every tulip has to be positioned correctly in order to bloom correctly. Similarly, he said that the variety of flower bulbs used has to be carefully considered. "You can't have half of it flowering in April and half in May," he explained. The ambitious project is being overseen by Jan Guldenmond, a former landscape architect at the Keukenhof flower bulb fields in the Netherlands, and his assistant Nol van Ruiten. The Keukenhof is one of the wonders of the horticultural world, with a wealth of experience in annual bulb portraits. It's the first time the idea has been brought to Ireland however, and it's thanks to support from the National Botanic Gardens, the Irish Museums Trust, the James Joyce Centre, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and bulb sponsors Beechill Bulbs and Jac Uittenbogaard & Zonen. The project itself sprang into life after a tulip naming competition earlier this year organised by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The winning entry by Mary McClure in Limerick was the name "Molly Bloom" and from there the idea of honouring James Joyce with a portrait bloomed. The first tulip bulb in the project was planted by Ambassador of the Netherlands Paul Schellekens, together with local school children. James Joyce lookalike John Shevlin was also in attendance to provide inspiration. Mr Schellekens said tulip portraits are "real works of art" and encouraged the public to visit the completed portrait in spring 2013. Meanwhile Mr McHugh said the "Molly Bloom" tulip is one of about 300 tulip varieties stocked at Beechill Bulbs on the Clara Road in Tullamore. In addition approximately 150 daffodil bulb varieties are available and hundreds of other flower bulbs. "Bulbs are what we're all about," he said, adding that he's delighted to see bulb portaits coming to Ireland. "What I always try to promote to people is don't just plant a few bulbs, plant a picture or an image," he said. Now is the time for tulips to be planted. Bulbs should be planted in ground that is not sodden, and that's between six and eight inches deep. Beechill Bulbs can be contacted by calling 057 9322956.