Phoenix Park gets set to Bloom on June bank holiday weekend

Meath nurseries and food producers amongst companies showcasing

John Donohoe

Published: Fri 19 May 2023, 5:51 PM

Bord Bia Bloom returns to the Phoenix Park, Dublin, this June bank holiday weekend with another vibrant mix of thought-provoking show gardens, delicious local food, and interactive entertainment for visitors of all ages, including Riverlane Nurseries from Roristown, Trim, with a holistic sensory experience in the Plant Village. In the Food Village, six Meath based companies will be sampling their produce for visitors.

At the centrepiece of Bord Bia Bloom, some 22 small, medium, and large show gardens and feature gardens will provide a colourful demonstration of the latest trends and innovations in garden design.

RTÉ Lyric fm’s Marty Whelan who is set to throw the ultimate garden party at Bord Bia Bloom 2023, with world renowned lyric soprano and opera star, Celine Byrne taking her first show on Lyric fm to the Bloom main stage. Photo by Andres Poveda

Bord Bia expects to welcome more than 100,000 visitors to the show from Thursday 1st to Monday 5th June.

Jim O’Toole, CEO, Bord Bia said: “Bord Bia Bloom was created to offer a world-class, uplifting and engaging showcase for Irish horticulture, food and drink. Now in its 17th year, the show provides an invaluable platform to highlight important societal issues such as climate change, sustainable production and health and wellbeing. We are proud to see how Bloom has evolved into a unique festival experience, with nature and sustainable living at its heart, while also continuing to offer our horticulture, food and drink clients the opportunity to showcase their latest products and innovations.”

Marty Whelan with the Meades Farm team. Photo by Paul Sherwood Photographer

Postcard Gardens

Along with a dazzling display of show gardens, gardening enthusiasts will find plenty of inspiration in the ever-popular ‘Postcard Gardens’, which include nine small but perfectly formed pop-up gardens that are designed and built by community groups, schools, and training groups from across Ireland. There will also be five days of gardening talks, a bustling Nursery Village featuring some of Ireland's leading nurseries, floral displays from the Ireland’s finest floral artists and a botanical art exhibition.

Food Glorious Food

New to the event this year is the introduction of the Funky Food Fleet which will bring a collection of Ireland’s tastiest food trucks to the festival for the first time.

The Quality Kitchen Stage at the centre of the Food Village will once again host live cookery demonstrations from some of Ireland’s leading chefs including Neven Maguire, Catherine Fulvio, Rory O’Connell, Fiona Uyema, JP McMahon, Edward Hayden, Brian McDermott and Shane Smith, along with interviews with more than 40 Irish food producers.

In the redesigned Food Hall and the popular Bloom Inn, over 100 Irish food and drink companies will showcase their produce and many companies will use the opportunity to launch new and exciting food and drink products.

Attendees will have the opportunity to sample fares from Navan’s Finnegan’s Farm, Lir Chocolates, and Coole Swan. Meade Farm from Lobinstown will also take part as well as Clarke’s Fresh Fruit from Stamullen and YR Sauces from Ashbourne.

There is also plenty to do for all the family with live entertainment on the Main Stage, while the ‘Budding Bloomers’ area promises to keep children engaged and entertained with willow weaving, planting games, toddler play area and much more! RTÉjr will also be central to this space with daily storytelling, a kids disco and magic shows.

RTÉ Lyric fm's Marty Whelan will kick off Bord Bia Bloom 2023 on the main stage with great live music, chat and special guests from 10am - 12 noon on Thursday 1st June as he throws the ultimate garden party for Bloom visitors. 'Movies and Musicals' will be Live with guest presenter, Celine Byrne on Saturday 3rd June, from 1pm to 3pm, while George Hamilton will broadcast 'The Hamilton Scores', live from the RTÉ Roadcaster at the Walled Garden, on Sunday 4th June between 10am and 1pm.

Musician Kylabelle McKinney at the launch of Bord Bia Bloom. This year Bord Bia has introduced a number of new features which will see some of Ireland’s tastiest food trucks and Grafton Street’s best buskers joining the line-up for the popular festival. Photo Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography Photo by Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography

RTÉjr and RTÉ Kids will also feature across the weekend’s schedule at the new Budding Bloomers Kids Zone, as RTÉjr presents Storybud on the big screen and host the DJ for a Day Kids Disco where the kids will take over the music choices with guest kid DJs on rotation, dancers and surprises for a fun disco for kids of all ages to get involved in. RTÉ Radio 1’s 'Countrywide', presented by Philip Boucher-Hayes, will broadcast live on Saturday 3rd June, and Marty Morrissey and Áine Lawlor will be back on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player with Bloom, capturing the fun and colour of the June bank holiday weekend at Bord Bia Bloom.