Bloom 2010, Ireland’s largest gardening, food and family festival hosted by Bord Bia, was officially opened in the Phoenix Park, Dublin today by the President of Ireland and Bloom Patron, Mary McAleese. In total, fifty five medals were awarded to garden designers, nurseries and floral artists.
Speaking at the opening Dan Browne, Chairman, Bord Bia acknowledged the “whole battalion of garden designers who have been working around the clock to deliver a premier showcase of Irish garden design.” ‘Sustainability’, ‘Local Food’ and ‘Grow Your Own’, are central themes to this year’s event. “Visitors can look forward to finding gardens at the forefront of international design with less emphasis this year on showmanship and more on sustainability, less on the exotic, more on the local” he added.
Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive, Bord Bia commented “Bloom aims to educate, inspire and inform visitors and with something planned for all ages, we trust visitors will enjoy the wide and expanded range of features and exhibits Bloom 2010 has to offer.”
Bloom 2010 Medal Winners
Similar to other international flower shows including Chelsea and Hampton Court, all of the Bloom 2010 showgardens and floral displays have been assessed and judged since Tuesday (June 1st) by an independent international judging panel. The garden designers arrived onsite this morning (Thursday June 3rd) to discover the results had been delivered overnight.
Jane McCorkell, Killsallaghan, Co. Meath was awarded the overall prize in the Large Garden category for ‘The Rain Garden’, constructed in association with the SAP Group. Paul Doyle’s creation The Specsavers Garden: Eclipse 2010 scooped the overall winner’s prize in the Medium Garden category. Best Overall Small Garden was awarded to 3Design in collaboration with Róisín de Buitléar, Dublin with Beauty & The Bees.
The winner of the Engaging Spaces category, which includes all interactive and educational gardens, was Anne Hamilton, Enniskeane, Co. Cork with Islands.
Association of Irish Floral Artists (AOIFA) won the Best Nursery Award within the stunning Floral Marquee; Camolin Potting Shed, Wexford won Best Floral Display and Marie Dodrill, Portmarnock Flower Club, won the overall Floral Art Category.
In total, fifty five medals were awarded - 12 gold medals, 15 silver gilt, 17 silver, 11 bronze medals and 3 Special Commendations.
Bloom 2010 – key features:
Locally grown fresh produce and plants will feature strongly at Bloom 2010. Bord Bia’s “Best in Season” fresh produce marquee will include a fabulous display of the full range of fruit and vegetables grown by Irish producers. Help will be on hand throughout the event to provide information on Ireland’s fresh produce industry and to highlight what’s Best in Season when! The “Its Garden Time” feature will also highlight the wide range of ornamental plants grown in Ireland and the suitability of these plants for the Irish climate.
The Office of Public Works (OPW), which provides the 70 acre site for Bloom, will once again open its walled kitchen garden to the public, which has been restored to its original Victorian style.
The Garden Expert Stage will host a comprehensive range of leading experts in horticulture, gardening and floristry including UK TV presenter James Alexander Sinclair; gardening gurus Gerry Daly and Dermot O’Neill and Shawna Lee Coronado, (sponsored by Glenisk) American author of the critically acclaimed book, Gardening Nude, a guide for living a green lifestyle.
Once again, children can enter Bloom free of charge and according to Bord Bia this year the event will incorporate many more family orientated attractions and activities. The Irish Preschool Play Association (IPPA) will be onsite with an imaginative and interactive garden, including hay castles and willow huts.
Imaginosity, the children’s museum based in Sandyford, Co. Dublin, will return with a “Good to Grow” feature for Bloom 2010. Daily workshops and classes for children will vary from how to grow your own vegetables to building a bird’s nest.
Bloom neighbours - Dublin Zoo - will host a number of children’s workshops throughout the weekend and this year visitors will have the opportunity to meet, and feed, a number of farm animals at Agri Aware’s mini Bloom farm.
Food & Drink at Bloom:
The 2010 Artisan Food Market will be Bloom’s biggest yet, with almost fifty food producers. The Bloom Inn opens its doors for the first time to allow visitors over the age of eighteen to enjoy the very best of independent Irish craft beers and spirits.
Each day, Bord Bia will also host four live demonstrations on the Quality Mark cookery stage. Featured chefs will include Neven Maguire, MacNean House and Restaurant, Blacklion, Co. Cavan; Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School, Co. Cork and food blogger and author of “Good Mood Food” Donal Skehan. The dishes prepared by the celebrity chefs will promote quality assured local produce and will be available to order each day in Bistro Bloom.
The Lost and Forgotten Skills Marquee is another new addition for 2010 - Bord Bia will seek to bring forgotten food skills to life through a series of talks and demonstrations. Skills on show will include cheese making, butter churning and fish smoking. The demonstrators and talks will be delivered by a mix of current artisan producers and domestic practitioners.
Carbon Trust:
Bord Bia is working with the Carbon Trust to measure the carbon footprint of Bloom and will use the results to plan future events. A series of measures have been put in place to reduce the carbon footprint of this year’s event including waste management controls, monitoring the reuse of materials after the event and increasing the use of public transport to travel to and from Bloom.
Getting to Bloom 2010:
Bloom is located in the Visitors Centre in the Phoenix Park, which is located off Chesterfield Avenue, the main road in the Phoenix Park running from Parkgate Street to the Castleknock Gate.
Visitors can avail of a courtesy shuttle bus running from Heuston Station to Bloom and back throughout the five days.
Bloom is also accessible by foot at Chesterfield Avenue. Please note it takes approximately twenty minutes to walk from either Parkgate Street or Castleknock Gate to the Bloom event. Cyclists can avail of free bike parking at the entrance, supported by Bike Week, taking place from Monday 13th June.
Car parking
There are two entrance gates in operation servicing traffic from Dublin City (Red Car Park A) and Castleknock/M50 (Green Car Park B). The nearest car park will be signposted from every entrance. The Ashtown Gate will be closed for the duration of the event.
Sponsors
Bord Bia is working with a number of sponsors including Love Irish Food; The Irish Times; Bord na Mona/Growise; Failte Ireland; Woodies; Department of Transport; Fiat Motors; Febvre Wine; Bosch; Kildare Growers and O’Brien Landscape Contractors, who will contribute, among others, to an eclectic mix of advice and expertise throughout the weekend. The event is also being run in association with the Office of Public Works (OPW) who has provided the picturesque setting of the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre.
Listing of Bloom 2010 Overall Category Winners
Bloom 2010 – Overall Category Winners:
Best in Category – Large Garden
Jane Mc Corkell for SAP Group, Kilsallghan, Co. Meath – The Rain Garden
Best in Category – Medium Garden
Paul Doyle, Dublin - The Specsavers Garden: Eclipse 2010
Best in Category – Small Garden
3Design in collaboration with Róisín de Buitléar, Dublin – Beauty & The Bees
Best in Category – Engaging Space
Anne Hamilton, Enniskeane, Co. Cork – Islands
Best in Category – Nursery
Camolin Potting Shed, Wexford
Best in Category – Floral Display
Association of Irish Floral Artists (AOIFA)
Best in Category – Floral Artist
Marie Dodrill, Portmarnock Flower Club
Full List of Bloom 2010 Medal Winners:
SHOWGARDENS
Gold Medal
- Jane Mc Corkell for SAP Group, Kilsallghan, Co. Meath – The Rain Garden
- Doylescapes, Cabinteely, Dublin 18 – ‘Gin & Tonic’
- Anne Hamilton, Enniskeane, Co. Cork – Islands
- Paul Doyle, Dublin - The Specsavers Garden: Eclipse 2010
Silver Gilt Medal
- 3Design in collaboration with Róisín de Buitléar, Dublin – Beauty & The Bees
- Niall Maxwell, Oldtown , Co. Dublin – Victus Ortus
- Ronnie Nevin, Dublin – Patterns of Change… A Window on the Future
- Carol Duffy, IPPA, Dublin – IPPA Nature’s Playground of Possibilities
- Dawn Aston and Crawford Leitch – Urban Oasis
Silver Medal
- Garry Hanaphy and Colm Quinn, Dublin – Be Stylish, Your Way
- Peter O’Brien & Sons Landscaping, Malahide, Co. Dublin – The Green Igloo
- Frazer Mc Donogh, Wicklow Town - The Travel Department China Garden
- Fiann ó Nualláin, Dublin – The GIY Edible Garden
- Fiann ó Nualláin, Dublin – Behold I Bear Gifts
- Anu Green, Coach Street, Cork - The Upper End
- Tim Austen, The VSO Dollar-A-Day-Garden
- Russell Shekleton for KHS Landscaping Ltd, The Californian Courtyard
- James Mc Connell, Urban Idyll (RTE One’s Supergarden Winner)
Bronze Medal
- Sinead Finn, Dublin – Kilsaran Lifestyle Garden
NURSERY DISPLAYS
Gold Medal
- Camolin Potting Shed
- Dicksonia Direct
- Thompson & Morgan
Silver Gilt Medal
- Irish Water Plants
- Kilmurray Nursery
- Mount Venus Nurseries
- Peninsula Primulas
- Shady Plants
- Stonecrop Herbs
Silver Medal
- Sydney Conneff Herbaceous Perennials
- Devine Nurseries
- Ed Orchid The Indoor Plant Store
- Leamore Nursery
Bronze Medal
- Glens Garden
- Harrington Exotics
- Heritage Bulbs
- Long Life Plants Ltd
- Plants Direct
- Two Lions Garden Plants
FLORAL DISPLAYS:
Gold Medal
AOIFA – Association of Irish Floral Artists
Silver Gilt Medal
Liberty Florists
Silver Medal
Michael Gerrard Flowers
Bronze Medal
Blackwater Floral Accessories
FLORAL ARTISTS:
Gold Medal
- Marie Dodrill - Portmarnock Flower Club
- Margaret Nevin - Bray Flower Club
- Christopher White - Naul Gardening Club
- Adrienne Thompson - Kilcullen Flower & Garden Club
Silver Gilt Medal
- Orla McGrane - Doddervale Flower Club
- Marie O'Leary - Rathvilly Garden and Flower Club
- Helen Kennedy - Bray Flower Club
Silver Medal
- Diane Gallagher - Doddervale Flower Club
- Diane Gallagher - Doddervale Flower Club
- Siobhan Reilly - Rathvilly Flower Club Silver
Bronze Medal
- Bernie Dunphy - Navan Floral Art Club
- Mary Hayde - Naas Flower Club
- Bridie Dowling - Doddervale Flower Club