President Michael D Higgins did not have far to travel when he opened the Bloom gardening festival at the Phoenix Park this morning, just a few minutes walk from Áras an Uachtaráin.
This is the sixth year of the gardening, food and family festival organised by Bord Bia. It will continue until Monday evening.
The event includes 27 show-gardens, 100 Irish food and drink producers, 40 nurseries and 160 retailers across a 70-acre site.
Mr Higgins said he was an enthusiastic visitor to Bloom and he recommended visitors to give themselves time to see all the attractions. “It is well, well worth it and there is so much to see and enjoy.”
He said the garden festival heralded the arrival of summer. “I see it in the same way as one season follows another. Bloom is coming again and that’s the way it should be….really Bloom is a feast for the senses.”
One of the president’s first ports of call was to visit the winning garden in the overall large garden category. It was designed by Jane McCorkell from Killsallaghan, County Meath and was a gimmick-free area with deep flower borders, a lawn and garden seat and a potting area.
She said the garden was specifically designed as a space that could be recreated by any gardener. This was her fifth time to win a gold medal at Bloom and her second time to win the overall large garden category award.
He also met Fiann Ó Nualláin who designed the “Stream of Consciousness” garden following a conversation he had with Mr Higgins when he was on the presidential campaign trail at last year’s Bloom festival.
And Mr Higgins praised Mr Ó Nualláin’s 10 year-old niece Miah Ní Nualláin who was the youngest garden designer at the event. She won a silver medal for her “Reigning Cats and Dogs” garden.
The Bloom judges awarded 81 medals to show gardens, nurseries and floral displays.
Gary Graham, Bloom show manager said the festival had never seen such a diverse range of styles from traditional cottage gardens to ultra modern, from sedate Japanese to dramatic sculptural installations.
“Most gratifying for me is how designers have used both the ‘concept’ and ‘show garden’ categories as communication platforms in highly creative, engaging and fun ways to add to the debate on wider health, socioeconomic and environmental issues,” he said.
The overall winners were:
Large Garden: Growise 'My Garden' by Jane McCorkell
Medium Garden: Cookie and Creams Reclaimed Sanctuary (RTÉ Supergarden winner) by Leonie Cornelius
Small Garden: Greenhouse by Patricia Tyrrell and Deirdre Prince
Concept Garden: Angel's Fishing Rods, Mermaids Tears – A Tale of the Sea by 3Design Gardens
Best Nursery: Mount Venus Nursery, Dublin
AOIFA Floral Art Winner: Marie Dodrill from Portmarnock Flower Club for "Where the Dragonfly Dreams"
* For the full list of winners see bloominthepark.com
