Jane McCorkell, Kilsallaghan, Co.Meath received the highest accolade, overall large garden winner, at Bloom today for her ‘Our Origin is Green’ garden. The gold medal garden, which represents a trip through Irish mythology, showcases Celtic design through the use of modern Irish material. The design is inspired by a Celtic knot of two dogs found in the Book of Durrow. Later this morning, Bord Bia’s Bloom 2015 festival will be officially opened by the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins. Bloom Medal Winners
The medals at Bloom are highly coveted and months of planning go into the design and creation of each of the gardens. The highly experienced and renowned team of international Bloom judges, led by head judge Andrew Wilson, together with award winning garden designers and the curator of the National Botanic Gardens, spent over two days meticulously observing and deliberating before announcing the much anticipated results this morning. The judging panel awarded a total of 25 medals to show garden designers including; nine Gold, five Silver Gilt, four Silver and seven Bronze.
Bord Bia spokesperson & Bloom’s Show Manager, Gary Graham, commented, “Each year we are convinced that the standard of gardens cannot get any higher however once again the designers have surpassed themselves. The creativity, vision and intricate level of design that they have shown is truly outstanding. They are an inspiration to both their peers and the amateur gardeners who come to Bloom each year. On behalf of Bord Bia, I would like to thank and congratulate all of the designers on producing such brilliance again this year”.
Overall winners in each category are listed below.
Large Garden: Our Origin is Green, designed by Jane McCorkell
Medium Garden: The Pieta House Garden – Darkness into Light, designed by Niall Maxwell
Small Garden: Beech Park Gardens, ITB Blanchardstown & Fingal County Council
Concept Garden: The PAN Garden, designed by Liat Schurmann
Other gold medal winners included the Yeats Secret Garden in Sligo, sponsored by Glen Dimplex and designed by Lorely Forrester; Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin Garden, presented by Kildare Growers, designed by Anthony Ryan with Kieran Dunne; The GOAL Garden – What you call a slum, I call a home!, sponsored by GOAL and designed by Joan Mallon; The Solus Garden of Light, sponsored by Solus and designed by Alan Rudden; Irish Country Magazine Garden, designed by Fiann Ó Nualláin and Lisa Kelly and Ronald McDonald House Garden, sponsored by Dawn Meats and designed by Anthony Ryan.
There were six gold medals awarded in the Floral and Nursery Pavilion, which showcases the very best of plant nurseries in Ireland. Over 50 nurseries and florists are exhibiting this year, with the Best in Show award going to Kilmurry Nursery, run by Orla and Paul Woods from Gorey, Co.Wexford.
VIP Visitors at Bloom
Bloom Patron President Michael D Higgins will officially open Bloom at 11am this morning. The President, who will be accompanied by his wife Mrs. Sabina Higgins, will see the wonderful show gardens and meet the medal-winners, designers, and judges on their visit. The President will also stop by Bord Bia’s Chefs Stage where he will deliver a speech. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney TD also visited the Bloom this morning and An Tánaiste Joan Burton TD is set to visit later today.
Other VIP visitors to Bloom will include some of Ireland’s top chefs who are appearing at the Bord Bia Quality Kitchen stage over the course of the festival; Neven Maguire, Catherine Fulvio, Rory O’Connell, The Lazy Chef Simon Lamont, Edward Hayden, David and Stephen Flynn (The Happy Pear) and Fiona Uyema to name but a few. They will be creating wonderful mouth-watering dishes using Bord Bia Quality Assured products and the best of local ingredients. Well-known foodie Ella McSweeney is MC and will be persuading these chefs to part with their culinary secrets during their live demonstrations.
Festival Favourites
Budding Bloomers
As Bloom is aimed at the whole family, the younger members will be well catered for at the Budding Bloomers area. A vibrant mixture of family friendly features will keep the little ones entertained and active, from toddlers to fifth classers. Children are encouraged to play, learn and grow and better still, children up to 16 go free*!
Food Village
The Food Village at Bloom offers a wide range of artisan produce on sale as well as a number of onsite dining options such as the Bistro Bloom restaurant, café and seafood bar or the all new Country Crest Food Fayre, a 370-seater restaurant. Visitors can also try the many handcrafted Irish beers and spirits in the Bloom Inn. Over 125 irish food and drink producers will participate in this year’s show.
Bloom 2015 will run from Thursday May 28th to Monday June 1st, opening 9am – 6pm daily. Tickets are priced between €14 – €20 and children go free. While parking will be available onsite, a number of courtesy shuttle buses will run from Parkgate Street to Bloom from 8.30am – 7pm each day. For more information see www.bloominthepark.com
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