Latest news with #EileenSung
The Irish Sun
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘What can't she do' – RTE Super Garden contestant faces huge design setback as worker quits mid-build
RTE Super Garden contestant Eileen Sung was left with a major setback tonight as one of her workers quit mid-build. The brand new series of Super Garden continued tonight with five new budding designers battling it out for a coveted show garden spot at Bord Bia's Bloom in 2025. 4 Eileen transformed the couple's garden Credit: RTE 4 Eileen faced numerous set backs during her build Credit: RTE 4 Eileen's landscaper walked off the job Credit: RTE The super gardeners hoping to have their designs shown off at Bord Bia Bloom are Chris, Jorge, Debbie, Eileen and Rosie. And overseeing the competition are three judges; Brian Burke, former Super Garden winner Monica Alvarez, and Carol Marks. In tonight's show, viewers met 72-year-old gardener Eileen Sung from Derry, who currently lives in Belfast. Eileen is a self-admitted latecomer to gardening and design, something which she only began 12 years ago, at age 60. read more on super garden Before studying horticulture, Eileen picked up a wealth of experience across many fields, including being a police officer in Hong Kong for eight years. When she returned to Ireland from Hong Kong, she took up a job at the Northern Irish Assembly - where she worked until retirement. Retiring at 60 is when she reskilled, went back to school to study, and graduated in 2024 with a degree from the University of Ulster in horticulture. Eileen has been a big fan of the show, and her dream is for her designs to be presented at Bord Bia's Bloom in the Phoenix Park. Most read in News TV Putting that dream to the test, she designed a garden for new homeowners Vasile and Sarah. The happy couple who live in Baker Hall, Navan with their three-year-old son, Francesco, want the perfect space to raise their growing family. Fair City star returns on air As Sarah revealed she is pregnant with another child for the couple, they want a space where they can relax and their children can grow up and play in. Understanding their needs, Eileen set out to create a garden she called, New Beginnings. The first step she took in creating "New Beginnings" for the family, she wanted to plant four trees in the garden, each representing a family member. But her build got off to a rocky start, when she changed a core aspect of the design before any of her materials arrived. 'SHOW MUST GO ON' In a bid to be more sustainable, Eileen changed her idea of including gravel in the garden - to only using grass. With her mind constantly changing and the design ever evolving, Eileen's lead landscaper quit mid-build. Undisturbed by the setback, Eileen insisted the "show must go on" as she roped in students from her college to help pull off the build. She also enlisted the help of her fellow Super Garden contenders to get her flowers planted in time. SUPER SETBACKS After a to-the-bone final polishing of her garden, Eileen finished her design, although it slightly deviated from her initial concept - and finished her first ever garden design. The judges also seemed impressed by what she managed to pull off as they noted her planting was "some of the best" they'd ever seen. RTE viewers inspired by her conviction to get the job done, despite setbacks, raced to social media to champion the retiree. Una said: "Come on Eileen!" Charlotte commented: "There's nothing this lady can't do.... She's amazing." Frances remarked: "Can we have a documentary about Eileen herself, she sounds fascinating." 4 Eileen took up gardening just 12 years ago at age 60 Credit: RTE
RTÉ News
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
72-year-old designer creates deam garden for growing family
The 16th series of beloved gardening competition Super Garden has returned to our screens on RTÉ One, with this week's episode introducing viewers to 72-year-old designer Eileen Sung. A latecomer to garden design, Eileen Sung took to studying horticulture following retirement. Her varied career saw her working with the police in Hong Kong for eight years before returning to Northern Ireland to work in the civil service. Originally from Derry, the Belfast-based woman has been working in the gardening sphere for over 12 years and recently graduated in horticulture with a degree from the University of Ulster. "My ambition for the next five years [is] I want to help people build their gardens and to renew their gardens," she said. "I also want to go on learning and I want to enjoy my horitculture training." Eileen currently volunteers as a gardener and garden guide at Rowallane National Trust, and previously worked for Belfast City Council as a garden labourer. Now, aged 72, her dream is to feature at Bloom as a garden designer. If she wins Super Garden, she will be given the chance to showcase her winning design at Ireland's largest gardening festival, where over a hundred thousand visitors will have the chance to see their winning design brought to life, joining the ranks of Ireland's top garden designers. Her opportunity to win the prize comes through her work with a young family in Baker Hall in Navan, Co Meath. Vasile, Sarah, and three-year-old Francesco are a growing family, with another baby on the way, and are hoping to create a space that will be suitable for their little ones. As well as having room to play, the family hope that Eileen can create a space to styslishly store away a series of bicycles and Vasile's motorbike. With this in mind, Eileen used her three weeks and €15,000 budget to create a 'new beginnings' garden. Initially, the plans included a water feature, children's monkeybars, and no space for the bikes but things soon changed when time became crunched. In the end, Super Garden judges Monica Alvarez and Carol Marks told Eileen that she created a functional family garden with great use of space and incredible planting, while Brian Burke felt that Eileen remained a little "unsure of herself".
