Bloom flower show gets encore

BLOOM, the country’s largest gardening event, which attracted 50,000 visitors when it was first staged last year, returns to the Phoenix Park in Dublin on the June Bank Holiday weekend.

The focus this year is how caring for plants can improve the quality of life for people of all ages.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Mary Coughlan said that, with greater urbanisation and higher housing density, few people now have the luxury of living in a natural landscape.