See what I did there… did you? Did you? 🙂 lol yes slightly lame but I went to the Bloom Festival a couple of weeks ago and really, really enjoyed it. I was concerned that it might be like going to a massive garden center for the day but I could not have been more wrong and we will certainly return again next year.
The Bloom Festival by Bord Bia was first launched as a place to showcase garden plants, design and gardening as a hobby however in the 10 years since it has come to also showcase some breathtaking creative garden and plant displays as well as showcasing some of the best Irish food and drink that Ireland has to offer. It is a great day out and I would highly recommend popping along – there is simply loads to see and do; from sampling great food and drink to purchasing new plants to viewing some extraordinary show gardens.
Plant Shopping on a grand scale
When we entered the Floral and large Pavillions I was simply overwhelmed with the variety and quality of flowers and plants on display. The colours and scents that greeted us were beautiful and the sense of pride that the owners felt was palpable. I will be honest I am a simple plant girl – I love indoor Yukka plants and one of mine ‘Charlie’ I have had for just over 15 years and he is still going strong. Wasps ever so slightly petrify me so I have always veered away from having them in my home however after seeing some of the beautiful blooms on display I have changed my mind.
Botanical Art
I am always enchanted by botanical art as there is something so magical about people who have that creative flair to make beautiful masterpieces from fauna. Â I loved wandering around the different displays and some of them were just so unbelievable.
The Gardens
The creative sculpture and postcard gardens were just beautiful. It is absolutely amazing what some people can do with plants and flowers – some of the displays were simply breathtaking and the creativity is contagious. I left full of ideas of what we could do with our own garden on a much smaller scale of course! Here are a snapshot of some of the gardens on Display;
The food & drink
The food and drink that were on offer showcased the deliciousness of Irish Produce and the flair of those producing it. We probably loved the Dingle Vodka cocktails a little too much – but they were so tasty. This was my first time tasting Dingle Vodka and it is high quality and quite tasty. I also went for a simple crepe option as they smelled just delicious but there were so many different types of food on offer.
Exploring the festival
We spent from the early morning until late in the sunny afternoon at the festival and spent quite a few hours just wandering around exploring. It is considerably larger than we had thought and had one or two 99 cones to keep us going as well as quite a few Keeling Strawberries 🙂 There are some fun areas for children including a farm area as well as an entertainment stage which had quite the cool handout that featured massive bean bags and hammocks.
I also want to make a small note on the amenities at the event. I have been to many festivals at this stage – from small local ones to large ones like Glastonbury and Bloom was one of the best kitted out ones that I have been to. There were many points to fill up your own water bottles (which I admire as some festivals will not allow you to bring your own) and also places were you can sit and relax or enjoy a picnic. Anytime that we needed an ATM, bathroom or a bin we didn’t need to look far – this sounds like a minor detail but I do not like when you are looking for a cashpoint and are gone for over 40 minutes trying to find on! There is also quite a lot of signage – so if you go next year then just look up and you will find what you are looking for quite easily.
You can also find out more details about Bloom via their website and also their Facebook Page.
And finally a massive thank you to Darragh Doyle (who I know from the fab Irish Bloggers Facebook Group here) and also to Bord Bia for the tickets – I really appreciated them and we had such a fun time and will certainly be going again next year!
