Bord Bia has launched its eagerly anticipated gardening, food and family festival, Bloom. A highlight in the social calendar for green fingered enthusiasts, foodies and those who enjoy a great family day out, Ireland’s largest garden and food festival will run for five days over the June bank holiday weekend in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, from Thursday, 29th May until Monday, 2nd June 2014. Now in its 8th year, Bloom continues to attract a nationwide audience. Indeed, last year’s festival saw a flourish in visitor numbers, with over 110,000 attendees enjoying the festival atmosphere in the wonderful sunshine.
Bloom 2014 will showcase 30 exquisite show gardens, from the very best of Ireland’s landscape gardeners and designers. This year’s bespoke garden creations will include the Crumlin Children’s Hospital Garden, Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Garden which will see the popular TV show come to life through the recreation of the now infamous kitchen set Bloom-style!, a staggering 10ft Mr Tayto will overlook the Tayto Garden – Potato to Packet, which will also include the largest water feature ever to appear at Bloom, the ”Wellbeing Wetlands” which will represent a typical North American cranberry farm, the Barretstown & Glanbia: Sowing the Seeds of Magic garden providing a magical, thought provoking and fun-filled place for children and adults to enjoy, and the Samaritans You’ll Talk I’ll Listen garden designed to highlight the powerful effects of simply talking about your problems. Bloom veteran Fiann Ó Nualláin also returns with The First Place – a garden created to show the medicinal qualities of plants.
Amongst the large, medium, small and concept gardens will be a vast assortment of design styles (for a full list of details on the gardens, see Notes to Editor). Visitors to Bloom will also see what can be achieved with a limited budget and gardens which reflect some of the new trends impacting garden design today, such as the new approach to horticulture, ecology and sustainability in garden design. For the second year, Bloom will host a number of Postcard Gardens designed and constructed by passionate amateur gardeners from all around the country. These provide an opportunity for garden clubs and societies to demonstrate their abilities and to inspire other non-professional gardeners to experience the joys and benefits of gardening.
A team of expert judges from the world of horticulture will once again preside over this year’s event, including Andrew Wilson (award-winning garden designer, lecturer and writer), Mark Gregory (winner of 55 Chelsea medals), Karen Foley (landscape architect and educator) and Paul Maher (curator of the National Botanic Gardens). They will be joined by guest judge, award-winning landscape architect and garden designer Feargus McGarvey.
Visitors planning to attend this year’s show can also expect a host of new and exciting features, including the Floral & Nursery Pavilion, which will house over 50 exhibits from some of the country’s top floral artists, the AOIFA Floral Art Stage will offer advice and demonstrations on the techniques and artistry required to achieve a perfect floral display at home, a fantastic new Plant Village, The Weekend Style Stage at Bloom showcasing the best floral and botanical inspired fashion trends for the summer season, live entertainment at the Picnic Area and an Irish Craft Village hosted by the Craft and Design Council of Ireland.
Foodies will be delighted to hear that the Food Village at Bloom returns with an even greater choice of tasty treats and culinary delights. A wide range of dining options will be available at Bloom 2014, from Bistro, Bloom’s restaurant, café and seafood bar, to the all-new Donnelly Fresh Food Parlour. A host of other options will be available in the picnic and outdoor entertainment area, along with numerous pit stops for coffee and delectable nibbles, showcasing the very best of Irish artisan food. Lovers of Irish cheese will also enjoy the Irish Cheese Awards 2014, taking place at Bloom to showcase and reward the very best from Ireland’s farmhouse cheese producers. Guests are also invited to try some handcrafted Irish beers and spirits in the Bloom Inn.
The Quality Kitchen stage, a firm favourite with Bloom regulars, is sure to be a major attraction in the Food Village this year. Some of Ireland’s most loved chefs, including Neven Maguire, Kevin Dundon, Donal Skehan and Catherine Fulvio will host a number of daily demonstrations showcasing a range of new recipes made from Bord Bia Quality Assured products and the best of local ingredients.
Gary Graham, Bloom Show Manager said; “Bloom 2014 is our eighth outing in the beautiful Phoenix Park, Dublin and Bord Bia is delighted to showcase our top chefs, gardening experts and entertainers who will be inspiring and educating crowds at the live stages. Our professional garden designers, horticulturists and passionate enthusiasts have excelled once again. Be prepared to be wowed by 30 wonderful gardens and 55 plant displays. Our nurseries, craft workers and artisan food and drink companies will be sharing their passion and tempting you to experience the best that Ireland has to offer.”
Tickets are on sale now on www.bloominthepark.com
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