The organisers of the Bloom 2007 event in the Phoenix Park in Dublin had to close the car parks at lunchtime yesterday and gardaí closed the main gates into the park for three hours.
Thousands of people had thronged to see the show, which has been hailed as a spectacular success by organisers and the public.
Gardeners, it would appear, are like farmers, weather-proofed, because despite heavy rain on Sunday and surly skies and showers yesterday, the attendance of more than 20,000 pushed the numbers ahead of the 50,000 the organisers had predicted would turn out over the weekend.
The event did not just attract Dubliners.
They came from all over the State and from Northern Ireland to see the 30 designer gardens, the huge array of plants on sale and to sample the food and entertainment.
John Murphy from Gorey, Co Wexford, who came to the show with his wife, Mary, and their three children, said he was delighted with the day out because he was interested in gardening and wanted to see the most up-to-date plants and shrubs.
"We got to see everything we wanted to see and we probably purchased too much stuff for our garden," Mr Murphy said as the family, laden down with plants, headed back to their car last evening.
Elizabeth Wilson from Lisburn had travelled down with her gardening friend Florence Johnston from Belfast and they declared themselves very satisfied with their day out in Dublin.
"We go to the Chelsea show and we wanted to see how this might measure up," Ms Wilson said.
"It has a bit to go yet but it was very good and if they hold it again next year, we will come back again."
Aiden Cotter, chief executive of Bord Bia, the main sponsor of the event, said he was extremely pleased with the support given to the event by the public in its first year and it had surpassed all expectations.
Bord Bia has a three-year commitment to the event.
He paid tribute to the other premium sponsors, Keelings, Tesco, Fáilte Ireland and Pfizer and also to the Office of Public Works for allowing the use of the Phoenix Park.
"A Taste of Memory" was yesterday awarded the People's Choice Award.
Garden designers Bernadette and Eamon Doran from Wexford were delighted with their win.
This followed the accolade of Garden Designers Choice Award that they received the previous day.
Bloom is now set to become an annual event in the heart of Dublin.
The final hour of the show, when traditionally plants are sold off cheaply, brought huge numbers of people into the exhibition and garden areas.
There was strong demand around the Tesco vegetable suppliers' stand where all the produce was given away for free.
One woman got a small cut near her eye in the melée but she was rewarded with a cauliflower, which seemed to ease her pain considerably.