The Latvian National Museum of Natural History will open the horticultural exhibition season with a show of picturesque irises at the exhibition "Irises 2022", which is traditionally organised in cooperation with the Latvian Gladiolus and Iris Society. The exhibition will be open from 15 to 17 June.
The previous iris exhibition at the Natural History Museum took place in 2019, so this year is a special one for Iris breeders and growers – after three years of working individually, they finally have the opportunity to come together and show the results of their work to the public at large.
The exhibition will showcase iris varieties bred both in Latvia and abroad and which are suited to Latvia’s climate. The collections of the following breeders and collectors of the Latvian Gladiolus and Iris Society will be shown: Laimonis Zaķis, Ilga Viņķele, Juris Bāze, Lolita Muhlinkina, Dzintra Jurevica and Gunta Jēkabsone.
In Greek mythology, Iris was the name of the goddess who descended to earth from Olympus to communicate the will of the gods to mankind. The ancient Greek word iris itself means rainbow, which is no surprise since irises bloom in such rich and varied colours like no other flower.
Irises are perennial herbaceous plants. There are 250 known iris species growing in the wild in Asia, Europe, North America and North Africa. Cultivated varieties of irises originate mainly from the Mediterranean area.
Irises have long been known in Latvia. There are still old varieties of iris growing today, descendants of those introduced into the flower gardens of Latvian farmers in the 19th century from the parks of manor estates.
The iris boom began in the mid-1980s, when the first large iris flower exhibitions were held in Riga and the general public first saw the latest American-bred varieties of tall bearded irises. Although initially only foreign varieties were available to growers, work on Latvian iris breeding intensified with the establishment of the Society in 1994. The varieties developed in Latvia are much hardier because they are more suited to our climatic conditions.
During the exhibition, the Society's representatives will advise visitors on iris varieties, cultivation and breeding as well as how to choose the best irises for your garden.
The exhibition opens on Wednesday, 15 June at 12.00 in the exhibition hall on the 2nd floor.
Opening hours:
15.06. 12.00–17.00
16.06. 10.00–19.00
17.06. 10.00–17.00
Admission:
adults – 3,00 €
seniors, students – 2,50 €*
pupils – 1,70 €*
*ID required
Free admission:
- preschool-age children (up to age 6 including);
- students attending various kinds of special education classes, crisis centres, boarding schools, care centres, orphanages, psycho-social rehabilitation centres, and children’s care centres; residents of shelters and care homes; orphans; children without parents (upon presentation of status documents);
- mass media representatives who are reporting on museum activities (upon presentation of a press pass);
- staff of other museums (upon presentation of an institutional ID card or an International Council of Museums (ICOM) membership card);
- politically repressed individuals (upon presentation of status documents), including Ukrainian civilians;
- children under age 18 with any disability; adults with Disabled Group I status (and assistant) or adults with Disabled Group II status (upon presentation of documents);
- persons with invitations;
- holders of a museum entrance pass.
Discounts:
SIA „Jānis Roze” customer card 15% discount on special exhibitions (discount applies to no more than 4 tickets per customer card per visit)
