Bord Bia has declared Bloom 2009 a “spectacular success” as the festival draws to a close this evening. More than 55,000 people visited the Phoenix Park over the bank holiday weekend, making this year’s Bloom the most successful to date. The event, now in its third year, has become firmly established as the flagship gardening and food showcase in the country.
According to Bord Bia, three key themes resonated strongly with visitors, namely garden design on a budget, “growing your own”, and support for local food producers. “These themes, so much in tune with the current environment, have captured the imagination of the public and feedback from visitors has been universally positive. Bloom has once again proven to be an outstanding platform for the promotion of Irish horticulture and food” said Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive of Bord Bia.
“The showgardens, floral pavilion and artisan food market were again extremely popular, while interest in the replica of the Obama garden, the community garden and “best in season” illustrated the trend to growing one’s own food and sourcing locally” said Mr Cotter. “It’s clear that people are adopting a much more functional attitude towards their gardens – they’re looking for smarter and better ways to cultivate plants and generally get the most out of their gardens.”
Exhibitors at Bloom were delighted with the success of the show, and reported huge interest and great sales. Bernard Broderick, Director of Ina’s Kitchen Desserts in the Food Market said “We have had an amazing time at Bloom, we had to re-stock every day, sometimes three times a day and even bring in extra staff. The atmosphere in the Food Market has been terrific and sales have been at an all time high particularly our Gourmet Muffins and handmade ice-cream. Exhibitor Jane Russell from Jane Russell’s Original Irish sold out at this year’s Bloom and she doubled the sales she had at last year’s event.
In the Grand Pavilion, sales were also brisk. Ciaran Walsh, Director of Nemo Horticulturals Ltd launched a brand new organic pesticide at Bloom and increased their sales by an incredible 500 per cent since the show opened on Thursday. While Orla Woods from Kilmurry Nursery said there was a huge increase in visitors to the Floral Pavilion.
Gary Graham, Bloom Project Manager with Bord Bia, said “The response from the public to Bloom 2009 has been extraordinary and the number of new visitors to event has increased hugely. The success of this year’s event solidifies Bloom’s reputation as one of the best shows in Europe”.
The final day of Bloom also marked the announcement of the Designer’s Choice which went to Liat and Oliver Schurmann from Mount Venus Nursery in Dublin for their garden Translucency. The garden which had already won a gold medal, focuses on minimalism, lightness and transparency.