Latest news with #Bloom2025
Agriland
a day ago
- Business
- Agriland
Bord Bia's Bloom attracts 100,000 visitors over five day festival
Bord Bia's annual Bloom festival, held annually over the June Bank Holiday weekend, attracted 100,000 visitors this year according to figures released on its concluding day (Monday, June 2). The gardening and food festival which takes place each year in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, was originally launched to promote plants, garden design, horticulture and gardening. However over nearly two decades Bord Bia has developed the festival to also create a food and drink experience and promote learning experiences in gardening, growing fruit and vegetables, cooking and culture. Jim O'Toole, Bord Bia's chief executive, believes the festival now has an 'enduring popularity'. He added: 'Bloom 2025 has been a fantastic success — we welcomed wonderful crowds over the five days, enjoyed mostly favourable weather, and the atmosphere throughout the show has been incredibly positive. 'As we wrap up this year's event, excitement is already building for a very special milestone: Bord Bia Bloom's 20th anniversary in 2026.' Bloom Two of the key themes of each Bord Bia Bloom festival are sustainability and waste reduction and many elements of the 2025 show and feature gardens will be relocated follwing the event. The Grass Advantage garden – designed by Robert Moore and sponsored by the National Dairy Council Source Bord Bia Every element of the Grass Advantage garden, designed by Robert Moore and sponsored by the National Dairy Council 'will be reused, replanted, or repurposed' after the festival. According to Bord Bia the alder, hazel and field maple trees will be rehomed in a woodland setting in Wicklow while the weathered corrugated steel will return to dairy shed in Stamullen, County Meath. The milk churn structure will be reused as a focal point in a community garden, and the stone walls and stone-pave paving will be reused in a community allotment. Meanwhile the Estate's Essence garden, designed by Patrik Weisser and sponsored by Abbeyleix House and Farm, will be brought back to Abbeyleix House and Farm in County Laois where they will be used to build on the gardens at the estate. Awards As part of the celebrations to mark the final day of the festival two awards were also unveiled today including the People's Choice Award, voted for by visitors who chose their favourite show garden. This year it was awarded to Tulsa's 'Fostering is for You' garden designed by Pip Probert. Meanwhile Bloom garden designers also get a chance to vote on their favourite garden and this year the Designer's Choice Award was presented to Louise Checa who designed the gold medal winning Citroen Downsizers' Garden. Bord Bia has also confirmed today that Bloom 2026 will take place from Thursday, May 28 to Monday, June 1.
Extra.ie
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Holy cow! Donal Skehan's Bloom kitchen disaster is a cracker
TV chef Donal Skehan was in smashing form at Bord Bia Bloom yesterday, adding the cherry on top of his 'many' kitchen calamities. He was in the middle of a cookery demonstration at the gardening and food festival in the Phoenix Park when a glass oven door broke into pieces in his hand. Skehan, who soldiered on to whip up a Korean chicken dish, told afterwards: 'My biggest fear was that the glass was hot, it went all down my shirt, all down my top.' Donal Skehan, Irish TV personality and presenter, breaks the oven door while demonstrating at Bloom 2025. © Michael Chester. Thankfully, nobody was hurt by the flying shards, and the accident provided the chef with plenty of material for the rest of the demonstration, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the amused audience. 'It had rained previously, so we've never had a more packed demo tent – of course – to witness it,' Skehan laughed. 'The thing I learned in all my years on television is that whatever goes wrong, you keep on cracking on. I've had many kitchen disasters, and I think this definitely tops it. There's nothing like something going wrong in front of 400 people.' Donal Skehan, Irish TV personality and presenter, breaks the oven door while demonstrating at Bloom 2025. © Michael Chester. The Dublin-born chef is a regular presenter on BBC One's Saturday Kitchen and a contributor to ITV's This Morning. He said 'loads' of things have gone wrong in live broadcasts. 'I've burnt things, [This Morning presenter] Alison Hammond has moved things without me realising… 'But probably the biggest one was on Saturday Kitchen. It goes out to like three million people, so it's always a very stressful one to do, but it's a brilliant show. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Donal (@donalskehan) 'And I once sliced a little bit of the tip off my finger and had to continue on interviewing and chatting. Julian Clary was the celebrity guest. He was a pain in the a**e because he kept bringing it up.' Elsewhere at Bloom, another Irishman familiar to British TV viewers was in attendance for the very first time. Diarmuid Gavin explained: 'I've been abroad, and it's always around the time of the Chelsea Flower Show. And while I've lived in Ireland, I've never worked here until Covid. So, eventually, I've made it.' The TV gardener told the festival was 'great' from his first impressions. 'People are very enthusiastic. Great crowds, great gardens and great nurseries. So all very good.' This year's garden trend is 'going wild', Gavin said. 'Embracing the weeds, embracing the natural, getting away from the chemicals – all of that is very popular.' The Bloom judges awarded the concept garden gold medal to The Rainbow Brick Balcony Garden, made entirely from Lego. Limerick artist Gary Kirwan built it from 814,183 pieces over eight weeks, doing '85%' of the work himself. Despite the lack of organic matter in his incredible creation, he said organisers were 'really responsive' to the idea, with one in particular a 'big Lego fan'. The Marie Keating Foundation returned to Bloom with their 'Early Bird Catches The Worm' garden, highlighting the importance of early cancer detection. The charity's director of development, Lyrah O'Beirne, said the silver gilt medal-winning garden is 'asking people to be aware of what the signs and symptoms are and to act on them and get treated. 'The impact on the patient – physically, mentally and financially – is so much easier if it's treated in its early stages, and people can get back to a normal life. 'It's also much easier on their friends and family and on their work, because what people don't realise is that cancer just doesn't affect the patient, it affects everybody connected to that person.'
Agriland
4 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Healy-Rae launches report on horticulture education
Minister of State with responsibility for horticulture, Michael Healy-Rae, has launched a report into the available of courses for studying horticulture. The Horticulture Education Review Report was launched at the Bord Bia Bloom Festival by the minister today (Friday, May 30). The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said that the report delivers on a strategic action in the National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027, which includes a commitment to review horticulture course availability and suitability for a modern dynamic industry. The report includes a number of recommendations, including the establishment of a new committee called the Horticulture Education Leadership Group (HLEG). This committee would be tasked with assisting with reviews of horticultural educational content at all levels. That committee would also be tasked with preparing material that can be used by education providers and industry stakeholders to promote and market horticulture as an attractive and rewarding career. The HLEG committee should also work on an all-Ireland basis to share information on horticulture promotion. Commenting on the new report, Minister Healy-Rae said: 'I would like to thank the authors of the report, Dr. Owen Doyle and Brian Arnold for their work in completing this important review. 'The recommendations in the report set out clear actions for the horticulture sector to take forward to enhance its attractiveness as a future career choice. 'Launching the report at Bloom 2025 is particularly relevant as we celebrate and showcase all that is great about our horticulture sector, from gardens, plants and food produce; including its skilled professionals – landscape gardeners, florists, commercial growers, farmers, academics, advisors and scientists – the key foundation on which the horticulture industry is built,' the minister added. He thanked the horticulture industry, retailers and education providers for their engagement on the report. 'The recommendation to establish a new Higher Education Leadership Group that will input into the curriculum content and coordinate advocacy campaigns will be key to inspiring the next generation of horticulturists into this important and dynamic sector,' Minister Healy-Rae said. He added: 'I particularly welcome the focus on a 'global horizon' ensuring that our future graduates at all levels will have the required knowledge and skills to further advance sustainable practices and drive continued innovation in the sector.'
