Small Gardens
Lights, Camera, Action…Popcorn!
This cinema garden evokes the real feeling of old when watching a black and white silent movie. It creates a setting in an outdoor space to explore the passions of both “Gardening” and “Film” in just a moment. With one name in mind, we choose to recall the life, career and legacy of legendary Charles Chaplin by portraying his image throughout the garden, including our “Signature Plant”: Rosa ‘Charles Chaplin”.
The Design purposely suggests movement by the use of the undulating main sculpture that imitates an old fashion film reel as it is being pulled out of it’s canister. Globular solar dim lights bring the viewer’s eye towards the screen. An “Outdoor” couch rendered in artificial grass invites the viewer to be immersed in both, the garden and the film being projected onto the screen and to partake of the popcorn aroma provided.
Bamboos, colourful leaves and the informal arrangement of herbaceous plants also contrast with carpet mono-planting of golden Libertia.
The purpose of this garden is twofold:
- To call garden/film enthusiasts to fulfil their “dream moment”
- To encourage, promote and highlight our sponsors’ ethos of recycling, re-using and protecting the environment while enjoying a garden and using “Growgreen” composters.
Reigning Cats & Dogs
Reigning Cats & Dogs is a small sized garden designed by Miah Ní Nualláin (10 years old). Her pets are her friends and the garden has been imagined as if designed by her pets; their ideal garden at Bloom. This garden will demonstrate the understanding of the loving relationship a child has with their pet and also how to make a pet friendly garden. Miah’s garden is designed with plants, trees and flowers that have a direct link to cats and dogs, dogwoods and catnip for fun but also plants that are pet friendly, both safe to have with pets (non toxic) and durable to the interaction of animals. The garden is an oasis for pets and pet owners to share companionship and a beautiful, safe, nurturing, healthy environment. Pets and beautiful gardens are not mutually exclusive so this garden is a real treat for Bloom this year.
Birds and the Bees
I was encouraged by my employer Teresa and Dave Barry and my co-worker Grace Hamilton to enter Bloom and that evening went home to think of a concept. The idea for the garden came to me in a dream. I found myself in a country style garden and the first thing I saw was the olive tree and its eye-catching gnarled bark. I then saw the water features comprising of three square fountains and colours of plants all around me. The bird houses were mounted on the walls and bird song filled the air. The garden felt comfortable, relaxed and therapeutic.
This garden is a representation of what I saw in my dream and the plants I have chosen mimic the myriad of colours that surrounded me. I wish to create a natural feel to the garden, a countryside, with a warm Mediterranean twist.
Green House
Even the smallest of urban green spaces can not only be aesthetically pleasing but also contribute positively and sustainably to the environment. The ‘Greenhouse’ demonstrates a green oasis where the rainwater is recycled or is released slowly through layers of vegetation or permeable paving to the groundwater, the storage for recycling doubles as a small herb/salad roof garden and much of the planting is specifically chosen to support birds, bees and other wildlife. The house building materials are salvaged and the render is hemp and lime plaster. The delivery bike highlights and promotes the alternatives to car transport in an urban environment.
Ar Gháirdín Cuil
Ar Gháirdín Cuil was created to celebrate two things; Ireland’s craft heritage and what a nation of skilled people can achieve by working closely together on shared goals.
Metaphorical roots
We are a small island nation with a rich heritage and landscape. We have a highly skilled population with a strong work ethic, family and community values and by working together we have the ability to move beyond the current situation. But we need to remind ourselves, to focus on the positive, on our skills and our innovative spirit. We need to pause, regroup and work together. The garden centres around a finely constructed serpentine dry stone wall which curves throughout the full garden. It is intersected by a path which tapers to the end and leads to an area of reflection and relaxation on a curved bench looking at a sculpture. Two focal trees give cover at both ends and the garden is blanketed by a rich tapestry of herbaceous planting. This garden itself represents the culmination, the embodiment of many things that give us strength; our values, our history, our crafts we want to celebrate our wealth of skills and crafts and look more inward in order to move forward. The garden also represents a journey a narration through time which represents looking forward.
Angel’s Fishing Rods, Mermaid’s Tears – A Tale of the Sea
Our garden is inspired by the Sea – its colours, textures and tones – and the problem of plastic pollution. The garden has been designed to resemble a small harbour with its fishing pier and slipway. The centre-piece is a large net filled with colourful planting, “the bounty of the sea” which has just been scooped from the water and landed in the harbour. Among the catch is the all too familiar and unwelcome sight of discarded plastic. In addition to the plastic we see washed up on our shores there is the growing problem of microplastic pellets, called nurdles or Mermaid’s Tears. These are the raw material of the plastics industry that end up in our oceans lost in transit as they are shipped around the world. Our message is simple – choose less plastic product, recycle more, keep our beaches and coastal areas pollution free. The title “Angel’s Fishing Rods, Mermaid’s Tears – A Tale of the Sea” may suggest a fairytale but will there be a happy ending!
Source: Bloom in the Park – Small Show Gardens at Bloom 2012
