Ruby Russell and Sean Russell, National Dairy Council, Sustainable Dairy Farm Garden. Picture: Fennell Photography
Complete with a life-size model of a cow, old-style milk churns, dry-stone walls, and even an outhouse, it's no surprise a Youghal garden designer's recreation of a dairy farm garden in Dublin's Phoenix Park has been drawing the crowds this week.
Sean Russell’s Sustainable Dairy Farm Garden won gold at Bord Bia Bloom and means he is among five Cork garden exhibitors celebrating this weekend after winning coveted medals at the flower, family and food festival.
Sponsored by the National Dairy Council, Sean's garden resembles a traditional Irish country farm, complete with a mature, grass-clover pasture and the specially commissioned bronze wire-mesh bovine sculpture.
RTÉ Super Garden 2020 winner Mark Hoey, based in Midleton, received a silver gilt medal [graded in between gold and silver] for his garden Reflections that's been attracting visitors' interest since the festival opened on Thursday.
Mark originally designed his show garden to be accessible for a wheelchair user, and says it is intended as a “beautiful space that everyone can enjoy".
The theme of the garden, sponsored by Super Garden, reflects designer Mark’s experiences with his mental health and the importance of having a calming space at home to retreat to and enjoy with family and friends.
As well as the above two show garden designers, Cork exhibitors won two bronze medals in the “Another World” category: Ann Hester from Passage East, Co Cork (Cork Flower Club), and Angela Heffron from Cobh, Co Cork (Cobh Flower & Horticulture Club).
Sue Van Coppenhagen from Ladysbridge, Cork, received two medals for her botanical and floral art submissions: Rhododendron Loderi received gold and Snowdrops and Scarlet Elf Cups received silver gilt.
Overall, Bloom has reflected the fact that gardening is more popular than ever before with newcomers, with three first-time gardeners awarded gold medals for outstanding garden design.
This included Niall Deacon for his Eureka Garden sponsored by Solus Light Bulbs; Sean Russell’s National Dairy Council Sustainable Dairy Farm Garden and Seán O’Malley and Oisín Griffin for the Peter McVerry Trust Pathways to Home Garden.
Seasoned show garden designers Andrew Christopher Dunne and Alan Rudden took the best-in-category awards for large and medium gardens, bringing their total gold medals at Bord Bia Bloom to four and seven respectively.
The overall large show garden award was presented to Andrew Christopher Dunne for Hit Pause, The Caragh Nurseries Garden and the best in category medium show garden was awarded to Alan Rudden for the Savills Urban Oasis Garden.
For many, more time spent at home over the last two years has resulted in a newfound appreciation for our outdoor spaces as we realised the benefits of gardening for our mental and physical wellbeing, noted Mark Neary, director of horticulture, Bord Bia.
“This year’s gardens embrace this trend and celebrate the role of the garden as a place for relaxing and connecting with nature, while also providing an engaging outdoor room to entertain friends and connect with family,” he said.
Of his overall "large garden" award, Andrew Christopher Dunne said, “Hit Pause is inspired by an appreciation for our gardens and outdoor spaces, which many of us discovered during the past two years. As we were forced to hit pause on our lives, it awakened a creativity within us and a passion for all things outdoors.
"This garden hopes to encourage this newfound enthusiasm by demonstrating some of the key principles of good design which can be employed in any space.”
Many of the show gardens created at this year’s Bord Bia Bloom were designed to be accessible for amateur gardeners in order to provide those with a newfound interest in gardening with tips and tools to enhance their outdoor space.
Andrew’s garden showcases a number of design principles to inspire gardeners, including simplicity of palette, repetition, and the use of colour, form and texture.
The judging panels for Bord Bia Bloom 2022 included 15 Irish and international horticultural experts, who announced 78 awards for show garden designers, nurseries, floral artists, botanical art and amateur garden designers including 22 gold, 17 silver gilt, 17 silver, 13 bronze and 9 certificates of commendation.
Some 10 gold medals were awarded to nurseries exhibiting at this year’s event. The judges presented the Best in Show Nursery Award to Oliver and Liat Schurmann of Mount Venus Nursery for an impressive display of hardy garden perennials, trees and shrubs in the new Nursery Village at Bord Bia Bloom.
Bord Bia Bloom continues in the Phoenix Park until Monday and is expected to attract over 100,000 visitors this year, to 19 show gardens, 9 postcard gardens, over 80 Irish food and drink producers, 18 plant nurseries, 25 live cookery demonstrations with some of Ireland’s best-known chefs and some 130 retailers, all within a 70-acre site.
Read MoreCork Bloom winner ‘knew instinctively’ how to create garden
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