We have two award-winning show gardens and a sales/information stand at this year’s Bloom festival that runs from Thursday 31st May to Monday 4th June 2018.
Sanctuary’s Upside-Down Garden won the Bronze award at this years 2018 Bloom! We are very proud of our team for enabling the development of the garden from concept to the actual finished ‘topsy-turvy’ design.
The Nurture Garden, designed by our very own Dominic O’Donohue won the Silver Gilt Award! You can read about the nurture garden by clicking HERE
Ever wonder what you're pets get up to when you're not around?
At first it's an average boring suburban garden with a shed and a lawn (yawn!). That is until the humans leave! Then, it quickly transforms into a pets playground ...
The fence and the synthetic lawn slide under and behind the shed, revealing a swimming pool, a busy Kabana, and a cityscape beyond, with the pets chilling out ... doing their thing ... until the humans return!
We were delighted to be awarded a Silver medal for this years installation. It keeps up our proud record of having received at least a silver for each of our 3 show gardens.
With great weather and over 115,000 coming into Bloom over the bank holiday weekend, we had a fantastic reaction to the garden, especially from the little ones!
Thanks to all those that came to our show garden and those that dropped into our retail stand for a chat.
It really was a great weekend!
"Its always best to start at the beginning ..."
Glinda, the Good Witch of the North
Inspired by the classic story, this garden is our homage to the book written by Frank L. Baum in 1899, and since immortalised in the 1939 Warner Brothers film. A multi-layered theatrical experience, you are invited to follow the yellow brick road - from a black and white Kansas prairie to 'somewhere over the rainbow'. Re-tracing Dorothy's footsteps past Munchkinland, via the Cornfield Crossroads, through a dark forest and drowsy poppy fields, and on to Emerald City beyond.
The garden features several bespoke art pieces and the path is in the shape of the Golden Spiral - the 1:1.618 ratio of sacred geometry. Moreover, its more than a sweet fairytale and quest for brains, heart and courage. For those that eyes to see and ears to hear, there is much hidden symbolism that satirises and questions politics and economics, which is of relevance in Ireland today.
"After all, there's no place no like home and we ain't in Kansas any more!"
Mark O'Loughlin
It was a great experience all round, with over 40,000 people going through our garden over the weekend, and we even had sun !
Here is a video from Gardenville.TV of an interview with Mark on that glorious weekend ...
