**Bloom**

fryup

Anyone going this year?? Anyone been?? worth going to??

wait4me

Yep. Yep. Yep.
Nice show gardens!

pwurple

Been a few years ago. Didn't think it was up to much plantwise, or showgardens. Same old. I go to a good few though, in the uk and europe, so it's only in comparison to those. It seemed like copycat of the uk ones rather than anything uniquely irish.

For good quality unusual plants I prefer the fota rare plant event.

tampopo

I went late yesterday evening, by myself! So, maybe it wasn't conducive for an enjoyable time. Same old, same old, but you get that with Chelsea too.

I saw on the telly that everyone got a medal. That was...nice. Purchased some bulbs so it wasn't a wasted trip. I may go up late on Monday and get a book I saw or a secateurs. We'll see.

Spent the day in the garden meself, early on. More maintenance than la-di-dah design and prettifting things.

Like everything here, good weather makes it worthwhile...check your forecast.

magicbastarder

forecast is not looking good for tomorrow or monday, unfortunately. seems the morning will be the better time on both days.

Qualitymark

Bring your own food (a pity, as the food is delicious, and it's sponsored by Bord Bia and you'd like to support that) - a friend went with her autistic son and they had to wait an hour and a half in the queue for a meal.

philstar

^^^ sure you'd nearly get enough with the free samples

Qualitymark

philstar wrote: »

^^^ sure you'd nearly get enough with the free samples

Yeah, she said there were loads of delicious little bites, but her son - a big man - was raving with the hunger and wanted a proper meal, and there were huge queues, and no really good info on what the food was when you got to the top, where the queue would stop as people dithered for ages over what combinations of food to choose. I *think* she also said that there was no separate food queue for those who just wanted coffee and cake either.

The plants seemed pretty good - I was on a train out of Dublin the other day and people were loaded down with loveliness.

Supercell

Going today after lunch, cant wait, will try and get some pics and post here later.

tampopo

what I want to do/make is a bug motel. There have been some good ones on show the two times I've been.

AndyBoBandy

Went 2 years ago and thought it was utter tripe.

5% show gardens, 95% stuff for sale,
Like most things in Ireland, once inside the gate the event is designed exclusively to extract as much of your money as possible.


Hardly any room to move around the place, and considering its venue (the Phoenix park), I thought this was shocking. (I'd rather walk 10 Kim's freely in space than walk 500m in what felt like a human train)

The best part of it for us was when we left to go home. And we usually like outdoorsy type things, especially involving plants/gardening.

tampopo

2011 Bug Motel




This year. Mini pallets put to good use.




And one I saw recently in Longford/Edgewordstown.

Sonnenblumen

Haven't been this year and unlikely to go. Bloom is no Chelsea and will probably never be, and for lots of reasons. I disagree with the criticism of Chelsea, especially this year's event, full of wonderful things to see. So much art, craft and gardening but all closely related to the garden which remains the dominant focus of Chelsea.

Visitors are also better catered for, and yes the crowds are enormous throughout Chelsea and admission is much more expensive but worth it. A wide range of (better quality) refreshments are available for the thirsty or hungry visitor and unlike Bloom prices are not extortionate.

For me of the many differences, the biggest difference between both events is one features quality as a given and the other somehow as a unique selling point.

Qualitymark

@Sonnenblumen I didn't get to Bloom - a bit sinusy after throwing myself at the garden and tearing out lots of weeds with bare hands, and didn't want to risk it. But my friend and source of wisdom on Bloom said the food wasn't extortionately priced, and was very good. Inefficiently managed, but delicious and not too dear, she said.

She did say the the focus, dar léi, was more commercial than gardening, and she would have liked more gardens, and more peace. She wasn't buying plants because her garden's chock-a-block with plants.

I suppose that an Ireland coming out of severe and damaging recession complicated and worsened by years of austerity is bound to be rather business-obsessed. Perhaps when (if) things open out a little, Bloom will be more about gardening and plantsmanship and less about turning a penny.

Supercell

Here's a few of the huge mounts of photos i took yesterday (in between the showers!) at bloom.
Taken with my phone so apologies for the quality.

Supercell

And some more!













This was my first time at bloom. I really enjoyed the afternoon there despite the cold and showers.
My lasting impression of Bloom was that it was a gardeners market wth a few show gardens squeezed in almost as an afterthought. I would really have liked the show gardens to have been given far more space and more of them!
I'm very glad I went, my family had a lovely time and we got some fantastic ideas for the garden - my love of lupins was definitely rekindled!

tampopo

Kylith, 1st photo in #16 is the supergarden winner.

kylith

So it is, with the lovely bright shed! Delighted he won. Glad the first woman didn't win, I don't think her garden would be much use for anyone (nowhere to sit) and certainly wasn't on-brief.

katydid

fryup wrote: »

Anyone going this year?? Anyone been?? worth going to??

Went there, couldn't find a place to park without having to walk half an hour to the entrance, and went away again.

pwurple

Thanks for posting those!

Some of the colours are all over the place. I don't get the white shoe casts with the city council planting scheme. The painted concrete walls are from chelsea about 6 years ago. And I know insect hotels are popular, but they are a bit of a gimmick in my eyes. Any established garden really won't need an insect hotel, unless it's a concrete wasteland with no plants. No subtlety, nothing authentic. And a shedload of lupins. Acers with 5 random colours of lupins, I dunno. Just, I don't think the best irish designers are even entering this.

fryup

katydid wrote: »

Went there, couldn't find a place to park without having to walk half an hour to the entrance, and went away again.

queues too long ??

katydid

fryup wrote: »

queues too long ??

We came in the Castleknock gate, were directed by the guards past the first car park and the second. The only possibility for parking was the car park near the zoo, which is miles away, especially when it's starting to rain and you have a gammy foot. We had travelled a long way but we reckoned that whatever about taking a half hour to walk there in the mild rain, it also involved another long walk back in the pouring rain.

So we went to the Botanic Gardens - car park full there too and no parking at all in the areas (communion or something on in the local church), so we ended up in Ikea!