Ciaran Burke Plants & Gardening
Five days of a floral festival will have plant highlights and will produce special moments and memories.
Pictures from top: dumping bark mulch this morning as rain causes a flood in front of ours and Mount Venus’ stand; notice on Camolin Potting Shed’s stand, people often handle plants and pull them out of the displays, well this is a warning; new plants by MyPlant.ie – Clemtis ‘Ooh La La’; Yucca gloriosa ‘Bright Star’, new introductions from Fitzgeralds nurseries.
Despite the rain, thousands of people enjoyed Bloom today. Instead of keeping people away, if anything it seemed to be even busier.
Outside people wandered around the show gardens and in the floral pavilion the plant sellers were doing a brisk trade.
On our stand we had our busiest day so far. Pot after pot was rolled, folded and filled. People of all ages were sowing seeds of nasturtiums, sunflowers and coriander. I have been amazed by the reaction of adults to the concept of making paper pots. So many people have pledged to use them instead of plastic pots for sowing their seeds.
During the afternoon we had one middle aged lady make a paper pot and sow her first ever seed! She was so thrilled, her enthusiasm matched that of a child. She went away on a high, it was a brilliant moment. Later she called by the stand to show me plants she had bought. She had visited Bloom with a friend, but she herself had never gardened before. After sowing a seed in her paper pot she had felt inspired and was planning on doing some gardening, amazing!
I hope her seeds germinate soon, and her plants grow well. If she plants them in the next day or so, at least they will get well watered.
Photos below; a family learn to make paper pots and sow seeds; people of all ages are enjoying Project Nasturium; Alex from Mount Venus Nurseries trying to deal with a flooded stand during the rain before opening this morning!
Specsavers garden, designed by Paul Doyle. I think that having a sense of humour in the garden is important. Sometimes garden design can be too serious and self important. It is good to laugh!
Jane Mc Corkell returns to Bloom this year performing her own style of alchemy, using steel and water to produce gold. Steel structures form dramatic shapes above the patio where a central sculpture rises from the ground. Her brief for Bloom explains the function of the garden. “Water is collected from the roof, and the hard surfaces in the garden, it flows to an underground ‘Rain Water Harvesting Unit’, and can then be used internally and externally in a variety of ways.”
The garden also features stylish planting; pristine white stemmed birch, upright spires of foxgloves and swaying stems Stipa grasses. Ivy clad boundaries feature rusted iron butterflies nestled amongst the verdant backdrop. A garden awash with innovation and style.
http://www.janemccorkelllandscape.ie/
Paul Doyle returns to Bloom this year, after winning a Gold medal in 2008. This years garden once again demonstrates Paul’s sense of style with a formal garden featuring a sculpture of his own design. Formal lines are enhanced with wonderful details. Upturned wine bottles fill the central aisle, succulent plants carpet the earth and pairs of glasses decorate planters. Truly a great spectacle!
I am delighted to see a clasmate from the Botanic Gardens being so successful.
Islands- by Anne Hamilton
Vuluptuous earth mounds form three rectangular areas that are separated by water filled channels. Stone work walls line the water, the areas linked by a curvaceous bridge/path of wood. A limited plant pallette, Felicia amelloides and grass, allow the shapes to express their form. Simply beautiful.
http://www.foxgardens.com/
Got to Bloom early to photograph gardens. Some great ones. Love Urban Oasis by Dawn Aston
http://www.dawnaston.co.uk/
Ciaran The Gardener