BUALADH BOS!

Sun Sets On Another Successful Bord Bia Bloom

Dublin’s Phoenix Park was a-buzz over the June bank holiday weekend as over 100,000 visitors attended

Bord Bia Bloom 2023. Business boomed and spirits were high, aided by the warm summer weather.

Speaking on the final day of the 2023 festival, Jim O’Toole, Bord Bia’s Chief Executive, said:

“In its seventeenth year, Bord Bia Bloom remains a firm favourite with the Irish public.

“In addition to creating an enjoyable visitor experience, Bord Bia Bloom provides an important commercial opportunity for Bord Bia’s client companies. We work with Ireland’s leading garden designers, nurseries and horticulture businesses, and more than 100 food and drink producers, all at Bord Bia Bloom to showcase their work.

“Their focus is not just to impress the public onsite, but also to fill their order books for the year ahead. Bord Bia Bloom has become an integral part of the summer calendar for consumers and businesses alike, and that is something Bord Bia is very proud of.”

BUSINESS WAS BLOOMIN’

Many exhibitors reported strong sales at

Bord Bia Bloom this year.

Jack Cunnane of Western Plant Nurseries in Skreen, Co Sligo, exhibited in the outdoor Nursery Village and won a gold medal for the display.

“We’ve been participating at Bord Bia Bloom for eight or nine years now, and this has been our best yet in terms of sales. We are low on stock now, but that’s a good sign – we don’t want to bring it home!”

Phytaphix, an award-winning functional food company based in Dundalk, was new to Bord Bia Bloom this year. Founder Dr Conor Kerley said, “This was our first time at Bord Bia Bloom and the response has been nothing short of phenomenal.”

Sustainable Gardens

With the focus on sustainability and waste reduction at Bord Bia Bloom, many elements of the show and feature gardens are in the process of being relocated post event. For example:

The Rise Garden, designed by Eugene Higgins in collaboration with the young people at Oberstown Children Detention Campus, will become the focus of the new horticulture programme for young people at Oberstown premises in Lusk, Co Dublin, where they will learn and develop new skills.

The Coastal Garden: Easy Steps to Dream Gardens, designed by James Purdy and sponsored by Bord Bia, was donated to the As Darragh Did charity in Newcastle, Co Wicklow.

Green Cities Europe Parklet, designed by Daibhí MacDomhnaill, and sponsored by EU Green Cities on behalf of the Irish Hardy Nursery Stock Association, is being relocated within Dublin city centre to support its message of greening urban spaces.

Planting from The Raising Amazing Garden by Tusla Fostering is being used to create four sensory gardens at Tusla Fostering residential homes.

Final Day Awards

The final day of the festival marked the announcement of a number of awards, including The People’s Choice Award, awarded to First 5 Garden of Wonder and Discovery, designed by Liat and Oliver Schurmann of Mount Venus Nursery, Dublin.

The Bord Bia Bloom 2023 garden designers select the Designers’ Choice Award. This year the accolade was presented to Nicola Haines, who designed the Citröen Power of One Garden.

Bord Bia also presented food awards this year for the first time. The Best Taste Award went to Kinara Kitchen, an Indian restaurant in Dublin that has wowed Bord Bia Bloom attendees over the years for its authentic charcoalgrilled delicacies. ✽

Information on all the award winners at Bord Bia Bloom is available at www.bordbiabloom. com/2023winners.

Bord Bia has confirmed that Bord Bia Bloom 2024 will take place from Thursday 30 May to Monday 3 June next year.