The National Dairy Council (NDC) is delighted to be presenting a show garden again at this year’s Bord Bia Bloom taking place the June Bank Holiday Weekend in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Following on from the NDC’s highly successful garden last year, which was based on a rural Irish farm, this year’s garden is all about the senses and showcasing Ireland’s weather and climate, keys to the success of our dairy production system.
This large concept garden pays homage to the Irish climate. It honours the crucial role our climate plays in the quality and sustainability of our farming businesses, while recognising farmers’ responsibility to protect our natural resources and combat climate change.
The garden’s centrepiece – a large installation built from transparent, reflective boxes – is a sculptural ode to clouds and a metaphor for modern farming. Ireland is now a leader in dairy production technology as farmers turn to cloud-based platforms to help lower the carbon footprint of the dairy they produce.
Recreating a rural countryside pasture, the hedging and trees in the garden will include Betula Alba Verrucosa, Crataegus Monogyna, Viburnum Opulaus and Euonymus Europaes. The garden will also pay homage to hedgerow vegetation like cow parsley and primrose, amongst others. Low walls and streams reflect the Irish landscape, while trees, hedgegrows and grasslands illustrate how native planting can help absorb CO2 emissions and increase biodiversity. Clover is an important component in grass pastures as it naturally reintroduces nitrogen into soil. All of the garden’s materials are made from recycled polygood panels which were produced in the Ukraine for The Good Plastic Company.
The garden designer, Benny Magennis, is a creative designer heavily involved in multiple design disciplines, such as landscape, creative art and visual, from product and furniture design to realising concept installations for public spaces and company brands.
Speaking about the garden, Benny said “Our climate attitude should reflect in our methods of farming. Our future survives in the clouds at present, be it the climate, technology, seasonal weather, or a sustainable Irish farming business. I wanted to reflect this in the Show Garden for NDC by creating an impactful sculptural garden installation with a strong visual appearance that acknowledges what a Show Garden truly means. Our cloud shape reflective box installation is an ode to ‘Irish wit and satire’ the movement towards ‘ cloud based’ technology-based farming and a loving nod to our Irish climate! Surrounding this with our simple farming landscapes such as hedgerows and stone walls, ponds and streams, clover, and grassland we are hoping to compliment a very strong visual impacting garden installation”.
Irish dairy farmers are continuing to play a central role in protecting and improving Ireland’s precious rural biodiversity by planting native hedgerows and trees, offering pollinator patches for bees and wasps, and by protecting watercourses via the ASSAP (Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme scheme). Ultimately, we need to communicate the fact that Irish dairy farmers and the sector is committed to solving climate challenges arising from production of dairy.
Cathy Curran, Head of Communications with NDC said “We are delighted to be at Bord Bia Bloom again this year and to have the opportunity to tell the Irish farming story from a different perspective. There is still a disconnect from grass to glass, and we need to capture these opportunities to tell the dairy production story at a largely urban consumer event. As part of our presence at Bloom, we will also be holding a number of interesting and engaging panel discussions and talks in the garden across the five days with a few famous faces!”
Visit ndc.ie/bloom-2023/ to learn more!
For further information please contact Cathy Curran, Communications Manager NDC on 086 8777 664 or ccurran@ndc.ie.
Editors Notes – About Bord Bia Bloom
Bord Bia Bloom, Ireland’s largest gardening, food, and family festival, will take place in the Phoenix Park, Dublin from Thursday, June 1st to Monday, June 5th. A showcase of the very best of Ireland’s horticulture and food industry, the annual festival will once again feature a range of spectacular show gardens, over 100 Irish food and drink exhibitors, and family entertainment.
Celebrating its 17th year in 2023, Bord Bia Bloom now attracts over 110,000 visitors annually and has grown into Ireland’s favourite gardening and lifestyle festival. Tickets are on sale now on BordBiaBloom.com and don’t forget, two kids go free with every paying adult. To stay up to date with plans for the 2023 festival, sign up to the Bloom ezine at BordBiaBloom.com and follow on social media @BordBiaBloom using the hashtag #bordbiabloom2023.
