Kilkenny community unites to bring a splash of colour to Peace Park

A vivid splash of colour has been added to Kilkenny’s Peace Park, with the fruition of a community initiative put in action months ago.

Late last year, as the evenings were getting shorter, a dedicated team of like minded individuals set about planting 20,000 pollinator-friendly crocus bulbs under the trees in the grass bank along Kilkenny’s Great War memorial.

Members of the Kilkenny Great War Memorial committee, Michael Street residents, Keep Kilkenny Beautiful committee and its volunteers brought their buckets, spades and set about to do something magical. The fun, banter and comradery was very enjoyable and some individual citizens joined in the mammoth task to sow the 20,000 bulbs.

At Kilkenny’s memorial to the over 800 men and women who died in World War I 1914-18, people can now see an array of colours — purples, whites, yellows — with the flowering, pollinator-friendly crocuses welcoming spring and blowing away any winter cobwebs still lurking around.

Paddy Horohan and Jim Corcoran. Picture: Vicky Comerford

The flowering crocus bulbs are pollinator-friendly and will be a huge addition to the available food source for the early bees and pollinator insects along the banks of the River Nore.

The bulbs are among the most hardy and consistent of spring bulbs. So, visitors and local people are offered this annual colourful assault from this year and they will continue flowering each year into the future around the Kilkenny Great War Memorial, and perhaps become a visitor attraction in their own right when the word gets around.

SUMPTUOUS
Crocus bulbs originated from central, southern Europe and Asia and they have been heralding the spring throughout Ireland since the days of the Roman Empire. They provide a great show of colour and have earned a special place in the hearts of Irish gardeners.

As they have been planted en masse, the area has been transformed from an ordinary grass bank into a carpet of sumptuous purple, white and yellow, woven into a tapestry of jewel-like flowers. They bring much-needed colour back into green spaces in the environs of the city, dappled by the shade of the canopy of trees. The bulbs will multiply over the years and will form a carpet. The grass bank was mown in mid December last, this helped to lower the grass cover.

After flowering, there will be some shaggy turf in early spring. Grass cutting will resume in end of May each year. This will allow the crocus leaves time to photosynthesise and build up enough energy for next year’s display.

Hopefully, many other green spaces around the city will be planted with other spring bulbs in the future so as to further enhance the aesthetics of Kilkenny City.

Financial support given to enable this planting to be done around the Kilkenny Great War Memorial came from Keep Kilkenny Beautiful, an amenity grant from Kilkenny County Council and from donations from the Michael Street residents.