Our hotlist of the Bloom unmissables
BEST OF IRISH HORTICULTURE
The Floral & Nursery Pavilion will showcase the very best plant nurseries in Ireland. The marquee will be brimming over with a selection of floral and foliage delights with a wide array of plants and flowers available to purchase. Large displays from over 25 of our top nurseries and floral artists will inspire visitors to get to work on their own gardens this summer. The Garden Expert Stage, sponsored by Bord Na Mona, will provide a comprehensive range of advice from leading experts across the horticulture, gardening and floristry fields. Located within the Grand Pavilion, visitors will be able to listen to some of Ireland’s top horticulturalists offer advice and wisdom on all things gardening. Bloom show garden designers from previous years will give the audience insights into their world-class skills.
QUALITY MARK PLANT VILLAGE
Do you want to buy Irish plants? Look no further than the Quality Mark Plant Village where a selection of Bord Bia Quality Assured plants from Irish nurseries will be available to buy. Located close to the show gardens, when you spot the Quality Mark on a plant you know it has been grown in Ireland to the highest Bord Bia Quality standards.
BLOOM PLANT CRECHE
You can leave any plants or flowers you buy at the Bloom Plant Crèche while you explore the rest of the show. Last year over 120,000 plants were stored here safely and the team will help you carry your new purchases to the car when you are ready to leave.
BLOOM PLANT CLINIC
Bloom Plant Clinic, presented by The Irish Garden magazine, marshals the collective horticultural brains of more than 20 expert contributors to The Irish Garden magazine to deal with festival goers’ garden queries. Bring photographs on your smartphone, or samples of the affected plant material, kept in a plastic bag to maintain plant hygiene. Located in the Floral Marquee at Bloom, they will be wearing their crisp white lab coats so that you can pick them out in the throng.
BORD BIA FOOD VILLAGE
Bord Bia’s Food Village will host more than 100 producers allowing visitors to sample and take home premium Irish-produced food and drinks from an abundance of stalls – with three areas dedicated to Irish food there is something to satisfy everybody’s taste buds.
The Food Market will feature 67 smaller scale Irish producers of preserves, baked goods, confectionary, juices and much more. If you want to source and sample delicious cheese, CAIS, The Association of Irish Farmhouse Cheesemakers will be on hand to showcase a wide array of Irish farmhouse cheeses.
The Love Irish Food pavilion will feature 18 of their members’ stalls, while the Fresh Food Market, dedicated to Bord Bia Quality Assured meat, poultry and fish as well as fruit and vegetables, will be tended by 14 producers selling and providing information to the public. Be sure to visit and get to know the people behind your favourite products!
Located in the Food Village, The Bloom Inn will feature 27 Irish drink producers to sample from. Three brand-new distilleries will join the Inn this year; Clonakilty Distillers, Lough Ree Distillery and Micil Distillery, Galway’s first distillery to open its doors in over 100 years. A vibrant new group of breweries will also attend, including Ballykilcavan Brewery operating since 2018 and producing a variety of new craft beers, Mescan Brewery, founded by two vets and located on the slopes of Croagh Patrick producing Belgium-inspired beers, and Wicklow Brewery, a newly established micro-brewery.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING TIPS FROM HEALTHY IRELAND
With a Healthy Ireland survey recently revealing that 92% of Irish citizens want to make a change to improve their health and wellbeing, Healthy Ireland and Bord Bia’s show garden, The Healthy Way, will showcase how people can do so by embracing their natural surroundings. Whether it’s getting out and about to exercise, eating more fresh fruit and veg or simply taking a quiet moment in nature, outdoor spaces can bring benefits to our physical and mental health. While it can be overwhelming and difficult to know who, or what, to trust, Healthy Ireland is the place to go as it brings all the trusted sources together in one place. Search Healthy Ireland to find out more information and be sure to visit The Healthy Way show garden for expert advice in action.
IRISH CRAFT VILLAGE
Situated at the heart of the show, the Irish Craft Village, supported by Design & Craft Council Ireland, will present an exciting selection of work from some of Ireland’s most creative designers and makers. Over the course of Bloom, the Craft Village will host a range of drop-in craft demonstrations and activities suitable for all ages, including a daily Blacksmithing demonstration with the Irish Artist Blacksmith Association, drop-in Textile & Felt Making Workshops and Clay Creations where visitors can try their hand at throwing pots on the wheel.
SCULPTURE IN THE PARK
Showcasing new and previously unseen work by more than 40 artists, the 2019 Bloom Sculpture in the Park garden installation offers visitors an opportunity to walk through and interact with some of the best of Irish outdoor art in a garden-style setting. Created by Bloom Medal Winners Ruth Liddle and Ken Folan of The Kildare Gallery at Carton House, the installation features some of Ireland’s leading artists including Orla De Brí, Donnacha Cahill, Bob Quinn and Liam Butler to name a few.
ENTERTAINMENT & MUSIC
The picnic area at Bloom is the perfect space to take some time out, relax and enjoy the live entertainment. Bord Bia has teamed up with music education and festival company You Bloom to bring exciting new and unsigned music to Bloom. The main stage will feature a range of musicians, from the pop-infused energy of Rêves to the uplifting country rock from Jamie Stanton. Always popular, the Garda Band will charm the audience, as will Dancing with the Stars 2018 winner Jake Carter. Find your favourite spot in the sun, sit back and discover the best in new and emerging acts.
FASHION
The Bloom catwalk supported by Debenhams returns with a showcase of summer 2019, with looks from exclusive designers at Debenhams including Jenny Packham, Richard Quinn and Savannah Miller, Jasper Conran and Studio by Preen. The Debenhams Style Clinic returns for a third year and Debenhams Personal Shopper team will be on hand for style advice and tips.