A visit to Bloom in Dublin

Bloom in Dublin

Having procured 2 bus tickets to go to Dublin for last Saturday from Freecycle, Jim and I took full advantage and went to the the 'mini Chelsea' called Bloom in Phoenix Park, Dublin. It was a cloudy/sunny day, just perfect for our visit.

We started with a coffee and perused the leaflet, trying to work out where we were and where we wanted to go! There was a retail stalls area nearby and I rather took a fancy to this bench:


Although very attractive, it didn't leave much room for anyone else to sit there!


I like the idea of this regal stag in my garden. I tried to photograph him without people but it was just too busy.

Jim and I homed in on the crafts tent. There were woven baskets outside on the grass and Jim headed there to chat with the weaver. Hanging outside were these lovely quilts:




And inside there were more displayed on the walls. I had a chat with the quilters but they are based in Dublin, as were most of the crafters there.


Aren't they just lovely?

There were spinners and dyers, felt makers and mixed crafts too. They all had fabulous works on display.


This rather strange chap was by the the willow weaver's stall.


Willow baskets on display and I'm there too!

We went off to find the display gardens - the main feature at the show. There was a large queue for one garden in particular and it turned out to have been judged the best in show. I particularly liked it as it incorporated mosaics all around:



I particularly liked this one. Most of the gardens used some water and this was no exception. I loved these 2 grass filled heads too:


Isn't that brilliant?


Someone's having a bad hair day!


That striking yellow grass is brand new and not yet released. When it is, I'll be in the queue! It made a fantastic contrast with the black one.

It was much easier to wander around the other gardens and you could get better photographs. Specsavers sponsored this garden:


Along the front of the central 'lawn' it had 'Should have gone to Specsavers' in silver wire. The joke was that the lawn was actually made of succulents instead of grass and the shears had been abandoned nearby!


One of the cooling water features. Can you see the drops of water - frozen in time?



This was a lovely natural garden full of foxgloves. I liked the wood cut to different heights.


This was a Japanese style garden. They always have superb clean lines and water. The best part for me was the black fence with red sections (see below) behind the acer.


I might have to use that idea in our garden somewhere.

Another of my favourites was the next garden called 'Islands'. It had gorgeous sweeping lines:



Spot the garden's designer!

I think I'd better split this post into 2 parts. One of the gardens in tomorrow's blog had real ducks on the pond!