Return of 'live' Bloom: Here are the festival highlights

This year's event celebrates the benefits of the outdoors, while inspiring visitors to champion sustainable ways of living

Mon, 30 May, 2022 - 11:00

Karen Murray

After two years of virtual, Bord Bia Bloom is set to return to its rightful home in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, from Thursday, June 2, until Monday, June 6.

The celebrated outdoor festival, now in its 16th year, held two successful virtual #BloomAtHome events during the pandemic but it’s all systems go now for the first in-person event since 2019.

The focus is still on the outdoors. This year’s event will celebrate the role outdoor spaces can play in promoting both positive mental and physical health.

The importance of living more sustainably and protecting biodiversity is another important theme.

With 70 acres encompassing the visitor centre, there is something for everyone to enjoy over the five days and some real family fun promised too.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy and director of horticulture Mike Neary launch the Bloom festival.

Garden displays

Some 19 stunning show gardens will form the centrepiece of Bloom 2022.

The show gardens are a great source of inspiration, but they also provide entertainment through story-telling, and address important issues such as the environment, human health, sustainable food production, and housing.

The Peter McVerry Trust will take part for the first time with the Pathways to Home garden, designed to represent the journey from homelessness and rough sleeping to living in a safe and secure home.

Croí Cardiovascular Garden will also take part, in a bid to educate visitors about heart health.

The Green Cities Europe initiativewill feature a show garden highlighting the opportunity to make our public spaces greener through better planned planting and design; Aldi’s Sustainable For-rest Garden will showcase forest gardening; and two of this year’s show gardens will focus on creating accessible garden spaces, including gardens by Enable Ireland and 2020 Super Garden winner, Mark Hoey, from Cork, who will recreate his wheelchair-friendly garden.

Ireland’s sustainable food production systems will also feature in a number of the gardens, including the National Dairy Council Sustainable Dairy Garden, which will highlight the role of lush green pastures in producing quality milk; the Organic Edible Garden will showcase how best to grow a range of organic fruit and vegetables in tandem with nature; and the Eat Well, Live Well feature garden will showcase Ireland’s fresh produce industry with a planting display of in-season fruit, veg, and potatoes.

Recreate a show garden

Bord Bia is bringing two of the garden designs — The Nature Enthusiasts Garden and The Shared Spaces Family Garden — to the show garden area this year.

This initiative is designed to help people plant their own show garden at home and, no, you don’t have to be on Ireland’s rich list to have your own show garden!

Each garden has been created by an award-winning designer and comes with an easy-to-follow planting plan and list that can be implemented at home, according to the time, space and budget available.

The Irish grown plants featured in each garden can be bought from participating garden centres around the country.

Going green

Sustainability has become a major talking point in recent years and it’s an important theme this year.

There will be opportunities to engage with experts in environmental protection and sustainability.

The Gardening and Sustainable Living Stage will feature curated talks from a range of speakers, while the Conservation Zone returns with prominent conservation organisations, including the Irish Woodland Trust and the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

Amateur gardening displays will be celebrated in the Postcard Gardens, which are small, but perfectly formed gardening showcases from community groups nationwide.

Bord Bia is also running a number of sustainable initiatives at the festival, including a free shuttle bus service and an increased number of bicycle parking spaces.

Many of the show gardens will highlight environmentally friendly practices and systems from which visitors can draw inspiration, such as rainwater collection, pollinator-friendly planting, habitats for wildlife, and greener building materials.

Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia CEO, said: “It’s great to once again bring together the many talented people who are a part of Bord Bia Bloom.

“Bord Bia has made additional efforts this year to maintain a safe and environmentally sound space for all to enjoy, while ensuring that visitors come away enthused about how they can enhance their outdoor environments in a sustainable way.”