Award winning garden designer Diarmuid Gavin joined forces with TV3’s Anna Daly have launched GroMór 2017, a nationwide campaign to get the country growing.
GroMór is an initiative by Retail Excellence Garden Centres and growers across Ireland, in association with Bord Bia, to give clear and useful advice on how to best grow plants, herbs, flowers, fruits, vegetables and to highlight the health benefits of gardening.
The GroMór 2017 campaign encourages people to visit their local garden centre for expert advice on how to enhance their living space with nature. A series of 50 free gardening demonstrations will take place in throughout the nation in GroMór Garden Centres from April to September offering a whole variety of themes. For those who cannot attend the events, the website www.gromor.ie contains easy to follow guides and videos on how to grow flowers, plants, herbs, trees and vegetables whether it be on their windowsill, their balcony or in their garden.
This year’s campaign highlights the benefits of growing plants, flowers and foods focusing on four distinct areas:
Health & Wellbeing
Gardening can improve strength, endurance, and flexibility and can even reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity.
Interior and Exterior Décor
First-time buyers can face a mammoth task of decorating their new homes on a shoestring budget. GroMór gives plenty of tips on how to liven up your living areas with indoor plants and features as well as colourful options to brighten up your balconies and gardens.
The Family Garden
The garden is a space for all the family to enjoy, especially over the summer months. Whether it’s teaching young children about nature as they watch a seed grow into a flower or creating a haven for your family to enjoy barbecues and long summer days.
Lifestyle
Spring is the perfect time to take up a new cost effective, healthy hobby. Plan out your balcony or garden and get growing for a wonderful sense of achievement.
Diarmuid Gavin, the official ambassador for the GroMór campaign said, “I’m delighted to be a part of this campaign. Many people feel intimidated at the thought of planning a garden but it really is something anyone can achieve with a little guidance. With expert advice and demonstrations on hand from GroMór, novices can easily learn how to develop their very own outdoor haven whether it be on a windowsill, balcony or garden space and this is the perfect time of year to start!”
Fergal Doyle, Chairperson of the Retail Excellence Garden Group said, “Whether a beginner or a veteran gardener our aim is to give expert advice and help to all gardening enthusiasts achieve their own beautiful space through growing. We look forward to welcoming the public to our free demonstrations throughout the campaign and are always happy to provide guidance and advice to the public.”
Carol Marks of Bord Bia notes that “Gardening is an increasingly popular past-time, as evident from the results of Bord Bia’s Ipsos MRBI survey on the value of the garden market 2016. Spend on outdoor and flowering plants has increased by 33% since 2014, with herbaceous plants showing the biggest increase in popularity with a jump of 41% in purchase occasions. No small wonder, as there are so many benefits to gardening, it’s fantastic for physical fitness, mental health, and creativity, and it’s easy in the pocket.
Extra support will be provided for budding gardeners with a series of 50 clinics taking place across member centres nationwide during the campaign, involving the expert GroMór Ambassadors – Jane McCorkell, Ciaran Burke, Peter Dowdall, Marie Staunton and Kevin Dennis.
Watch out for an exciting competition to win a complete outdoor living package courtesy of Leisuregrow on GroMór’s social media channels. The prize, valued at €4,000 will allow you to make the most of your garden in 2017; A six seater Marseille rattan effect outdoor dining set, complete with Lazy Susan, seat cushions, and an Oatmeal coloured Parasol, a Grillstream Gourmet 6 Burner Plus Steak Shelf Side Burner, a Dante Patio Heater, a Pair of Marseille Sun Loungers with Cushions, Noma Solar White Watering Can Multi-Function LEDS and Noma Outdoor lighting 7 LED Parasol Cluster Lights. To enter the public simply are asked to share their garden snaps on Facebook, twitter or Instagram using #gromor2017
For a taste of what you can expect in a GroMór Centre near you visit www.gromor.ie
