Bloom In The Park 2009

dardevle

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Your view seems sniping and petty. You fail to mention anything about the huge nr of exhibition stands throughout the area and to compare an event like Bloom to other freebie events is nonsense. I'm not working for or have any association with event organisers. But it is obvious to any reasonable observer that improvements incl logistics, value and diversity of product (plant etc on dispaly has improved). Many things are free incl car park and under 15's. Discounted tickets were available for € 18.00 or less.

Your comment on non Irish staff puzzles me? Most of the people working (Support and exhibitors) at Bloom are Irish, but that's neither here nor there.

Perhaps you would prefer some half ass freebie show and do us all a favour and stop knocking an event which is developing but impressive. The vast majority of people IMO are very staisfied and ticket sales are well ahead of previous years. I did meet the occasional asshole who believes any price is too much. But IMO the only thing free is weather and nonsense talk and it is difficult to do much about either except ignore.

:rolleyes:...perhaps the thread title should read "non-critical comments in relation to bloom in the park 2009"

gollyitsolly

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Your view seems sniping and petty. You fail to mention anything about the huge nr of exhibition stands throughout the area and to compare an event like Bloom to other freebie events is nonsense. I'm not working for or have any association with event organisers. But it is obvious to any reasonable observer that improvements incl logistics, value and diversity of product (plant etc on dispaly has improved). Many things are free incl car park and under 15's. Discounted tickets were available for € 18.00 or less.

Your comment on non Irish staff puzzles me? Most of the people working (Support and exhibitors) at Bloom are Irish, but that's neither here nor there.

Perhaps you would prefer some half ass freebie show and do us all a favour and stop knocking an event which is developing but impressive. The vast majority of people IMO are very staisfied and ticket sales are well ahead of previous years. I did meet the occasional asshole who believes any price is too much. But IMO the only thing free is weather and nonsense talk and it is difficult to do much about either except ignore.

Get your facts right. I did not snipe at anyone. I just gave some information. Car park is NOT free. Food is OVERPRICED. There ARE less showgardens. Im all for Irish events but I dont like being fleeced especially during this recession.

gollyitsolly

Borderfox wrote: »

Rang the customer care line to enquire about ticket price for Friday and no answer, rang ticketline to find out price for Friday as there is no information on the website as to how much it is going to cost. Went to boards.ie and found out in 2 minutes, does that tell you something about Bloom? (thanks gollyitsollly)

No I know why they dont advertise the price, bloody rip-off.

I couldnt get the tickets for Thursday either, Thursday wasnt on the website!

gollyitsolly

arse..biscuits wrote: »

Because I'm going to be drinking like a lunatic.
Did you ever see a lunatic drinking? Thats me tomorrow.

mabet

Was at the show today in park. Was there at 10.05 and did not get through entrance gates until 10.45 due to only one person taking cash and one taking credit cards. This was at Green Car Park side. I found this unbelievable to have only 2 people giving tickets with such crowds iwaiting in the heat. The stewards were very aggressive in their tone with people, particulary a girl with a white shirt. She was roaring at people she was doing the best they could but to be honest the whole thing is a rip off . Weather wise it was a beautiful day but so was my own back garden today. As for food prices they were totally over the top. When will we ever learn to refuse to put up with this. 2.50 for a miniature paper cup of tea. Nothing justifies those prices and 2.60 for a bottle of water. It was an experience but I will not ever repeat it as I would prefer to go to my local garden centre for the aftenoon. I was so dissappointed with the show gardens. They were all so so modern and for tiny gardens. My favourite one was the little veg one with the cottage style door at the bottom and the little green path with the yellow flowers all along it.
r

Borderfox

I didnt bother to go in the end on Friday, I went to Tattersalls Horse Trials (free on Friday) I must check out when the Rose festival is on in St Annes, it was excellent last year and free also. Well worth a visit.

Orion

Went today - spent nearly 5 hours there and thoroughly enjoyed it. The show gardens were excellent. Some really didn't take my fancy but some others gave me some great ideas for my own back garden which I'm planning on re-doing from the ground up. Met Sonnenblumen too - thanks again for the tickets and credit crunch permitting I'll be in touch for that waterfall and the twin hanging seat when I do my garden

@mabet: I got there about 1pm at the green carpark too. Had my tickets already and walked straight in but the queue for pay as you go wasn't bad - maybe 20 people long and it appeared to be moving fast. As regards food prices - it's an outdoor event and the same commercial caterers were there as at any event - prices are indeed a rip. But you had the option here of bringing your own food which is what we did. I brought a little picnic hamper for us and the two kids and we sat down on the grass and had our meal. There was even a station of taps to fill up water bottles. Have you ever seen that or picnic areas at a commercial event before?

All in all I loved it. Bought some lovely plants for my front garden and got some inspiring ideas for both my allotment and back garden while I was there. Looking forward to next year already.

Sonnenblumen

Nothwithstanding that there will be differing views on many if not all aspects of the event IMO and helped by an incredible continuous fine weather, BLOOM 2009 will most certainly have resonance for the vast majority of visitors.

All in all it was a tremendous feat of logistics and organisation with a huge range and diversity of products, features, activities, informative forums and many fine examples of manufactured goods, services arts, crafts etc. The sheer diversity and quality of presentation was a major benchmark of much of what is good and enterprising in Irish gardening etc and judging by the feedback from fellow exhibitors, the visiting public which came in their droves, gave their endorsements where it really mattered most as many exhibitors reported buoyant sales.

It is surprising that negative sentiments seem to be more in evidence here but believe me that does not reflect the true facts behind the great success and spectacle that made the BLOOM 2009 gardening festival such a positive and uplifting event and experience.

If you missed it you really did miss out on one of the highlight events of 2009.

magicbastarder

didn't go this year, mainly because i felt it was too expensive last year; some sentiments expressed above would reflect what we felt. went to art in action in townley hall and did some gardening instead.

unkel

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

made the BLOOM 2009 gardening festival such a positive and uplifting event and experience.

If you missed it you really did miss out on one of the highlight events of 2009.

+1

We went in late today (3pm) on purpose. Traffic in the Phoenix park was fine, we were not held up anywhere. We got parking within 50m of the entrance and we didn't have to wait more than about 2 minutes at the tickets. We had a voucher (from Newlands) for a buy one get one free ticket, so the whole family got in for €25. The festival was still very busy until well after 4PM but people seemed to be very happy - there was a great atmosphere.

Obviously the weather helped a lot, but from what I saw everything was well organised. When we got there, the berries stand had just reduced their prices to €2 per box so we snacked on some lovely strawberries and raspberries. Nice bonus was that Keelings was giving away their whole display at the end. Went home with a large bag full of fruit and veg

average_runner

Only went this year because work gave us free tickets as a thank you.

I said last year it was over priced and i believe it still is but wont talk about that, just give some good and bad points on it.

Went on the monday

Good Points:

---

The show was more spread out this year and the food prices seem to of drop this year a bit.

Alot of cold water taps around and well advertised, this was really good considering the weather.

Some of the exhibitors were very helpful especially ones outside the main tent.

Alot more stuff on for kids this year which is great for families.

Bad Points

---

While i didnt have to queue to get in, the cash queue was massive and considering this was at 11.30 monday morning i thought the organisers be better organise.

The credit card queue was a disaster too.

One of the garden exhibitor in the main tent was a disaster, as was enquiry where her shop was to buy some flowers today, and she was very reluclant to tell us. Ah well her loss.

Less show gardens on show this year, but this is mainly down to most landscapers getting no work out of the show and only designers that were sponsor were there, which is fair enough in current climate.

Also can someone please explain why third level colleges were there advertising IT courses, also why hand bag shops were there?
If its a garden show, make it a garden show, otherwise dont advertise it as one.

Also why were the garden shops outside in a very small tight spot, very hard to move to arround, real pity that.

jinx9000

a little microcosm of politics.........based around Bloom, from vested and blinkered interests to the normal Joes!

I turned on my heal when I saw €25.00...........it can't be justified in the context of charging punters to be sold products to!

i'm sure a lot of hard work was put into it, and loads of money was made without displaying many signs of respect to the public! (kids free in is great though)

bcirl03

Was going to go with the family until I found out the price - eh rip off. And you had to pay for parking !!!!! Eh no thanks - do these people not realise we don’t have the money we used too?

Quiet annoyed that the Late Late Show on Friday literally promoted this rip off event.

Am I right in assuming the playground was part of the event and therefore closed off to the public for the duration of the show?

gollyitsolly

Im happy to see other people felt as I did. Why have an admission fee at all? It is supposed to be the peoples park! If the fifteen acres were used and it was free in, and the exhibitors didnt have to pay there would be masses of people turning up. The exhibitors could have done with the money that people used for the entrance fee. 50,000 people per event even is a lot of money. Where is the money going and to ? St. Annes Park in Raheny do great open days with stalls and the like and loads of people turn up. Any exhibitors care to share their views,or anyone from the OPW or Bord Bia?

Orion

These things cost a lot of money to run. I don't know if the land was given for use free but there were a lot of staff who had to be paid - ticketing, cleaning staff, security, etc. Then add the cost of equipment to set the place up, the toilet facilities, water stations, refuse, etc. It all adds up. I'd accept that €25 is a bit steep but kids were free and discounts were easy to come by. You could buy the Irish Garden mag for a fiver and get 2 for 1 tickets - €20 saving at the weekend right there. There were complimentary tickets galore. And worst case was buy the tickets online using the MyHome discount code.

Sonnenblumen

gollyitsolly wrote: »

Im happy to see other people felt as I did. Why have an admission fee at all? It is supposed to be the peoples park! If the fifteen acres were used and it was free in, and the exhibitors didnt have to pay there would be masses of people turning up. The exhibitors could have done with the money that people used for the entrance fee. 50,000 people per event even is a lot of money. Where is the money going and to ? St. Annes Park in Raheny do great open days with stalls and the like and loads of people turn up. Any exhibitors care to share their views,or anyone from the OPW or Bord Bia?

This is like wondering why GAA is free in the 15 acres but why people must pay into Croker? I mean where does one start? I'm not even going to bother, it is so naieve!

Black Dog

Though a keen gardener, I didn't attend Bloom having found it a disappointing experience previously and found some pre show comments (Jane Powers in the Irish Times, for example) negative with concerns about the lack of finance and the prediction that the number of show gardens would be down and the quality also affected by lack of finance.

Re cost of admission: I can understand the need to have an admission charge to a show such as Bloom but there are other horticultural events where admission charges are completely unacceptable to me. Over the past number of years plant sales have been organised around the country. I find it completely unacceptable that these have an admission charge - you are asked to pay to gain admission to purchase plants!

Sonnenblumen

Black Dog wrote: »

Though a keen gardener, I didn't attend Bloom having found it a disappointing experience previously and found some pre show comments (Jane Powers in the Irish Times, for example) negative with concerns about the lack of finance and the prediction that the number of show gardens would be down and the quality also affected by lack of finance.

Re cost of admission: I can understand the need to have an admission charge to a show such as Bloom but there are other horticultural events where admission charges are completely unacceptable to me. Over the past number of years plant sales have been organised around the country. I find it completely unacceptable that these have an admission charge - you are asked to pay to gain admission to purchase plants!

One wonders what gardening journalists are on about half the time. In my opinion most are living in the past, some find it increasingly difficult to afford any recognition to new talent. Some are reluctant to be critical about poor standards (design and/or construction). Bloom is supposedly about design , but the designer is also responsible for managing and overseeing the execution. Bloom regrettably does not acknowledge the construction efforts. Why? I'm not going to criticise any designer/garden but I was shocked by the low standards in a number of instances and some had appalling execution standards. I am not surprised to hear some designers/landscapers are struggling. Journalists need to get off the fence and come out of the comfort of old cliques and tell it as it actually is and not how it once was.

There are plenty of sponsors out there and some previous Bloom sponsors decided to change strategy this year. Some of this year's gardens were rubbish and this will be a greater cause for concern than lack of sponsors. Organisers dropped the bar this year, whilst old gardening journalists are trying to re-invent themselves!

Finally if Jane Powers is genuinely concerned about Bloom, perhaps she should look beyond the comfort of old friends and get into the industry and smell the roses!

Overall Bloom was great but for many other reasons besides Show gardens!

I wouldn't take what gardening journalists write too seriously.

mikom

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

I wouldn't take what gardening journalists write too seriously.

You're right.
I find vested interests posting on internet forums a much better barometer.

Sonnenblumen

Mikom

stop playing the tstetsi and make a contribution for once!

old boy

quite a number of roses have little or no scent

mikom

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Mikom

stop playing the tstetsi and make a contribution for once!

I presume you mean tsetse as in the fly.

The Sweeper

Many many moons ago (and by 'moons' I mean 'years number over a decade') I used to be involved in event management in the RDS in Dublin. We always came up against two problems: crap food, and people who were furious about paying for parking.

I worked with a bunch of English event managers, and they were always astonished - not so much at the food complaints, but definitely at the ranting about the parking costs. In most major cities in the world, parking is exorbitant. There's usually not enough of it, it's overpriced and even when it's provided you spend 40 minutes driving around the carparks looking for a space. It's the same everywhere - nothing changes. You either take public transport and walk, or you drive and accept that you're going to have to suck it up on the charging.

And E2.50 for a cup of tea sounds pretty standard for 'event food' tbh.

We have a monthly market in the next town over. It's held on a three acre paddock and usually has about 200 stall holders. It's always packed out with a couple of thousand people. It's free entry, so that part isn't comparable, but parking is always a drama.

They solve the food problem by bringing in a bunch of licensed catering trucks - burger vans, hotdog vendors and a guy who does mini donuts that are to die for when they're hot and scarily bad when they're cold. Otherwise, I expect to pay ridiculous money for food and drink at events - and if they're outdoor events, I bring a bottle of water and a bar of chocolate in my handbag because I know I'll resent paying event prices for food and drink.

I'd be more interested in the content of the show than about complaining about the universal outdoor event problems, food, drink, parking (and toilets is the other one usually...)

magicbastarder

i wasn't at bloom this year, so i can't comment on the fewer show gardens or cost of food - but what did it offer for €20 (or €25, whatever the entry fee was), apart from show gardens, and a better range of plants, than what is available from a (free) visit to a decent garden centre and a farmer's market?