Bloom 2010

Burts Bees garden


Crann Garden

More Burts Bees

School garden with Scarecrow

Great day at Bloom on Thursday. If you haven't been there yet, there's still a day to go - it's definitely worth it.

I arrived on Thursday, at 11:30 - opening time was 11:00am - there where huge queues to get in - lots of people arriving by bus. I made straight for the lost and forgotten skills area, where I heard a great talk by Tommy Osborne about killing pigs and making black pudding. Picked up a good tip for next week, when I hope to get some fresh blood form the pigs Joe is killing - adding a handful of salt to the bucket before the blood goes in will keep it liquid.

Then a quick look round all the gardens , and got ready for my talk at the GIY Ireland show garden (which was deservedly awarded a silver medal).

Show gardens I liked - Fiann O'Nualainn other garden ( he also designed the GIY garden), the Burts Bees garden, and the one with the ducks.

The Crann garden was not so beautiful, but made a great point. they had trees and other plants, planted through a much of cardboard. We did something similar in the school with willow, so I can show the students that we are doing the same as some forward thinking garden designers!

Met Suzie Cahn from Carrig Dulra - she was showing a school garden which she created in 2 weeks - good work Suzie!

Had a picnic lunch, delivered my talk - which was well received, and got a few chuckles in the appropriate places.

Had a great walk around the OPW walled garden - to be honest, this kind of permanent garden wows me much more than show gardens - the plants look a lot more natural. I was dead envious of the corn.

Over the years, Bloom has changed from being all about gardens to being a good balance between gardens and food. This is reflected in the gardens - lots had veg growing, and the artisan produce on sale is fabulous. I stocked up on a good few items - Annaharvey mini cakes, smoked sausages, strawberries, juice, and noticed that the Soul Bakery had very little bread left by 3:30pm. It's great to see such wonderful food being produced, and consumers snapping it up!

There's lots for kids to do - and the craft displays are excellent too. A real smith in operation, with real blacksmiths! I may have to bring the boys back tomorrow!

I took loads of photos, but I was using my iPhone, so they could be better. If you'd like to see some wonderful images, Bord Bia organised a photowalk, and the photos are on pixie. Check them out.

And only noticed the fantastic sculpture at the entrance on my way out ...