Have you ever wondered what happens to a show garden once the flower show or garden festival is over? Well I had the great opportunity to find out where one show garden from this Bloom 2014 ended up.
Well today I found out what happened to The Barretstown and Glanbia concept garden designed by Tim Austen. The garden, called ‘ Sowing the Seeds of Magic’, won a silver-gilt medal at this years Bloom and also won the highly sought after People’s Choice award at the end of a busy five day gardening festival.
The garden itself was dismantled following the Bloom Festival and has been reconstructed inside the ‘Secret Garden at Barretstown in Co, Kildare. The garden is now nestled in the walled garden at the centre and is surrounded by lovely floral beds, impressive apple trees, a working vegetable patch and a rather cool maze! Together all these elements make a very magical setting for the children and visitors to Barretstown to enjoy.
As you can see from the photos below the horticultural volunteers from CountryLife, who helped rebuild the garden in its new home, seemed to have a great time working on this worthwhile project that the children of Barretstown will get great fun out from.
James Byrne, marketing manager CountryLife, highlighted the groups happiness in being involved in the project saying: ‘This is a lovely opportunity to be part of something which will benefit the campers at Barretstown for years to come. It was a lot of hard work but the results are amazing and we’re delighted to have been involved with this living tribute to the partnership with Barretstown.’
The new addition to the horticultural side of Barretstown got a warm welcome today from the over 2,000 visitors who called by to celebrate the centre’s 20th Birthday!
Now I will admit I visited with the intentions of just going to see the show garden in its new home but the minute I arrived I was blown away with the activities going on to celebrate its birthday but more so by the fantastic facilities that Barretstown offers to the children and families that avail of its services each year. A little fluffy stuffed person may have come home with me from the party because lets face it you are never too old for a new teddy!!!
Barretstown is a fantastic place that Ireland should be proud of and I would highly recommend having a look at its website or twitter to learn more about it and to donate if you can.
My Name is David Corscadden and I have just finished my degree in horticulture from UCD. I have a keen interest in wildlife friendly gardens or as I like to call them “Wild Gardens”. I have in the last year taken a u-turn in what I thought I would do after college. I have moved more in to the literature side of horticulture and plan to do a masters in journalism next year.
