Pete and I were recently invited to Dublin by Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, to attend Bloom 2012.
A bustling gardening and food show held in Dublin’s enormous Phoenix Park, Bloom is now in its 6th year and we quickly understood why it’s become so popular.
My biggest criticism of RHS Chelsea, which I attended last year, was that visitor numbers were so high it was extremely hard to see anything. The crowds at each show garden were so deep that it routinely took 20 minutes or longer to slowly work one’s way to the front in order to be able to actually see the garden before guilt about the crowd behind resulted in shuffling away again a few moments later.
At Bloom, there were plenty of happy visitors but no unpleasant crowds and we were able to really admire the many show gardens. These were beautiful and varied from a traditional front garden with a bicycle outside (complete with strawberry plants in the handlebar basket) to the modern white garden room with bubble swing to the unusual small garden with red metal plant sculptures to a wildlife meadow with a purple salmon stream to a modern urban landscape with graffiti tunnel and an eagle made from recycled drinks cans.
Another highlight was the enormous walled kitchen garden with vegetable beds in absolutely immaculate condition, not a weed in sight. Around the edges were displays of vintage gardening equipment. I found the planting and upkeep of this area inspirational.
For those wanting to indulge in some retail therapy, there was a vast selection of relevant stalls, both outdoors and in the large marquee tent, selling everything from seeds and seedlings to ride-on lawnmowers to wrought iron trellises and much more.
The other side of Bloom was the Bord Bia food village, showcasing the best of Irish produce. Everything from smoked fish to fresh pies and quiches to dried seaweed to artisan cheeses to cakes to packaged snacks to cakes and biscuits to juices and beers… the selection was huge and I enjoyed chatting to many of the stall holders. That’s me, above, with the man from Sam’s Potatoes!
Had the show been nearer home, I’d have purchased a tonne to bring home. As it was, I contented myself with a packet of strawberry, mango and sencha tea from Kingfisher Tea. Can’t wait to break into that!
The show also had a number of other attractions for visitors including an entertainments stage featuring an eclectic range of musical acts, a cookery theatre with demonstrations from famous chefs, activities for younger children and a humanitarian and environmental zone where you could learn more about bee keeping, the tree council, bird watching and wildlife.
Bloom was an absolute delight to visit and I’d definitely recommend planning your trip to Dublin to coincide with Bloom in future years.
Kavey Eats was a guest of Bord Bia and Bloom In The Park.
Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!6 Comments to "Dublin’s Bloom In The Park"
you get invited to a lot!
I do, and I’m very lucky. This isn’t unusual in food blogging, I accept a very small fraction of what I’m offered…
Certainly inspires me to go! Did you take these photos too? They’re great.
I did indeed, all with my new point and shoot which arrived the day before, so was a bit hit and miss but most came out OK!
A well written and concise report of what Bloom is all about. I’m glad to have finally met you properly. 🙂
Same here, a pleasure. x