From the practical to the magical, the gardens at this year’s Bloom festival in Dublin cover all bases. The seventh annual garden and food showcase begins in the Phoenix Park today and will continue until Monday.
Event manager Gary Graham is expecting large crowds – 80,000 people attended last year despite miserable weather. “If the sun stays out, I think we’re going to have very big numbers over the five days.”
The forecast for the bank holiday weekend is generally good, with Met Éireann predicting temperature highs of 21 degrees today and 20 degrees on Monday.
Mr Graham said the festival would have “a major direct impact on the economy” in terms of gardening sales. A number of charity gardens are on display, including one inspired by the Jack and Jill Foundation – an organisation that helps the families of children with brain damage. That garden was designed by Kildare Growers and Peter O’Brien Landscapes.
Brigid Flanagan, who brought son Richard along for a sneak peek, said: “It’s a beautiful space, it’s nice and tranquil and peaceful. Richard was rolling across the grass and climbing over the bridge and really enjoying it and the colours and the different scents.”
A garden aimed at providing a haven for cancer sufferers and their families was constructed by Eileen Nolan, grounds manager at Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross and Blackrock. The structure will be rebuilt at the Harold’s Cross facility following Bloom.
Ms Nolan said she wanted to “promote how significant gardens are to patients in the hospice environment” as they were “fantastic for their wellbeing and for peace of mind”.
Mark O'Loughlin was inspired by the Wizard of Oz to create his interactive garden. He based his design on the famous story as it is multilayered and offers something different to children and adults. The original novel was written during a depression and features subtle crit- iques of financial and economic systems which Mr O'Loughlin felt it appropriate to include.
Bloom is Ireland’s largest gardening and food festival.