Peter Dowdall: Next stop Mallow for home and garden festival

Summer is the super season for garden festivalgoers and the fun starts now

Sun, 18 May, 2025 - 07:24

Peter Dowdall

What I love about this time of year is the buzz. You can feel it in the air. Everything is bursting into life again, from the fresh green leaves unfurling to the energy in the soil and the excitement among gardeners. Whether you are a seasoned expert or planting for the first time, May is when the garden starts calling you outside.

Right at the heart of that buzz is the Mallow Home & Garden Festival. It takes place this year from Friday, May 23, to Sunday, May 25, at Cork Racecourse.

It comes at the perfect moment. The week before, all eyes in the gardening world turn to London for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. We all watch it on TV or scroll through the photos online, inspired by the beauty, the creativity, the show gardens that seem to defy imagination. There is something a bit distant about it, too. It is glamorous, certainly, but also a bit out of reach for most of us. What I love about the Mallow Home & Garden Festival is that it brings that inspiration right down to earth, right into your own hands.

Mallow gives you the real show experience. You can walk through the gardens. You can smell the plants. You can chat to the growers and the designers. You can go home with plants, tools, and ideas that are actually ready to be planted in your own back garden that very weekend. It is a proper gardening show, with soil under your boots and the warmth of real conversations with people who love what they do.

This year’s festival promises to be better than ever. Once again, the team at The Pavilion Garden Centre in Ballygarvan, Co Cork, is behind the 25 stunning show gardens on display. These are not just for show. They are designed to give you real ideas that work in real gardens here in Ireland. Whether you are thinking of redoing a corner bed, adding a bit of structure with some new planting, or completely redesigning your outdoor space, the show gardens at Mallow are a brilliant place to find your spark.

One of the highlights for me every year is the gathering of specialist nurseries. The Irish Specialist Nursery Association, or ISNA as you may know it, will be back in full force, and I could not be happier to see it. You will find its members in the stables area of the racecourse. If you are serious about plants, that is where you want to spend your time.

This is where you will find the rare, the unusual, the hard-to-find treasures that you will not see in a standard garden centre. You will also find the well-loved classics, the old favourites that bring comfort and familiarity to any garden. Perhaps most exciting of all, you will find brand-new plant introductions that are just making their way into the Irish market.

The variety is incredible, ranging from herbaceous perennials to trees, shrubs, roses, clematis, and ferns.

More than the plants, what you are really getting here is access to the people who grow them. These are the nursery owners themselves. The people who propagated these plants from seed or cutting, who nurtured them through the cold months, and who know exactly what each one needs to thrive. They will be there, happy to chat, to offer advice, and to help you choose the right plants for your own garden conditions. Whether you have a shady corner or a windswept balcony, they will help you find something that will flourish.

Peter Dowdall will be at Mallow Home & Garden Festival.

There is a genuine passion and a generosity of spirit in the growers who are part of the ISNA. It is not about the hard sell. It is about sharing knowledge and helping people grow. For me, that is what the best gardening events are all about.

Of course, it is not just about plants. There are over 200 exhibitors expected this year, offering everything from home improvement solutions to artisan food and drink.

There will be tools, furniture, crafts, and clever design ideas for inside and out. If you are working on a home project or just want to be inspired, you will find something worth taking home.

The Cork Builders Providers are back again this year as festival partners, and they have played a huge part in building many of the gardens you will see. They are also running special offers across the weekend, so it is a good time to pick up quality supplies if you are planning any garden or home improvement work.

One of the best parts of the weekend, for me personally, is the series of free gardening talks and demonstrations. I will be there throughout the weekend, giving talks and sharing as much as I can. My good friend Paraic Horkan will also be joining me again.

Paraic Horkan will give presentations at the Mallow event.

Between us, we will cover everything from planting combinations to garden design, pest control to pollinator-friendly practices. We always leave time for questions because the real value comes from the conversations we have with the audience. That interaction is what makes these events so special.

The whole experience is designed to be easy and enjoyable. There is full catering on site, so you can grab a bite to eat and make a day of it.

There is ample free parking, and even a shuttle bus from Mallow Railway Station for anyone travelling by train. It is family-friendly too, with free admission for children, so you can bring the whole crew along for a day outdoors.

It is always a joy to see families walking around together, children exploring the gardens, and everyone coming away with new ideas and renewed enthusiasm. That is the magic of Mallow. It sends you home excited to get out into the garden, to dig, to plant, to create.

So, spend the previous week swooning over Chelsea’s grandeur and then take that excitement and turn it into action. Come to Mallow. Walk the gardens. Talk to the growers. Pick up something special for your own garden. I will see you there.