Old police boat sails away with top prize at Bloom
IT doesn’t sound like much – a clapped-out River Thames police boat bought from an 82-year-old man in Co Donegal, a wheelhouse from an old trawler and various bits of ancient vessels that haven’t seen a wave for many a year.
But put them all together and you have a seaworthy little beauty that’s the pride of the Bloom festival – and with a built-in working kitchen to boot.
When veteran garden designer Andrew Christopher Dunne, from Clogherhead, Co Louth, was seeking inspiration to build a Bloom entry for Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), he didn’t have to go far.
“BIM approached me to tell the story about what’s happening in the industry and how we are sustainably producing seafood, as well as the aqua culture side of things and how to ensure that it is all kept well for generations to come.
“But to turn it all into a garden is not the most straightforward thing.
“So, I went down to my pier and I was sitting there having a chowder, looking out and I realised ‘it’s all there’ and all I had to do was to draw inspiration from the places I love,” said Mr Dunne.
Clogherhead plus a little slice of Donegal and a nod to west Cork all culminated in a beautiful homage to Ireland’s sweeping coastline in his ‘Sustainable Seafood Garden’ which has scooped the award as the overall Show Garden winner at the Bloom.
“It was fairly complicated,” admitted Mr Dunne, quipping: “We have 120,000 litres of water all held in a one-millimetre thickness rubber lining – what could go w rong? ”
Getting the native coastal plants to optimum condition for the show proved “a nightmare”, he revealed.
“We’ve had a very, very cold, wet winter where the plants and trees were three weeks behind and then we were hit with incredible heat and dryness.
“When I planted the garden two weeks ago, most things were not in flower and it could make you very nervous but you have to trust your instinct and literally in the past two days it’s exploded into colour.”
Delighted with his award, which represents his third Bloom gold medal win but his first overall Best in Show, Mr Dunne said that what he had hoped for was that people would say ‘wow’ when they saw it.
“And we’re hearing that a lot,” he said.
Amid searing sunshine, thousands of happy punters flocked to the Bord Biacreated festival at the Phoenix Park, which will continue over the bank holiday weekend.
It was officially opened by President Michael D Higgins, who wore a highly suitable Panama hat for his appearance alongside wife Sabina.
He gave a special mention to the GOAL-sponsored entry, ‘A Woman’s Garden’,
designed by Cornelia Raftery, which he described as a fitting tribute to the endurance and resilience of rural women.
He also spent some time in the Trócaire garden ‘Resistance’, designed by Barry Kavanagh to celebrate human rights and environmental defenders, with striking wall art focusing on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.
A total of 10 gold medals were awarded to the Show Gardens, while fresh from his Chelsea Flower Show medal win, Billy Alexander, from Kells Bay Gardens, in Kerry, received a gold medal and Best in Show in the Nursery and Floral Pavilion.
Meanwhile, in the Postcard Garden section, the parent gardening group of North Kildare Educate Together School was happy to receive a special commendation for its entry ‘Growing while Learning, Learning while Growing’.
With an old school desk at the heart of it, alongside a ‘Poetree’, stone ladybirds and colourful lupins and foxgloves, it represents the importance of the natural world for children’s education, personal development and well-being.
“It was very fulfilling and challenging,” said parent Fiona Kyle, from Celbridge.