Back in the early days of my career, I remember sitting in a meeting in Bord Bia’s (old) offices on Lower Mount Street discussing a relatively new festival called Bloom. I was working with Agri Aware at the time and we were planning tours for primary school children, showing them how to grow vegetables in the classroom and at home.

Standing in the middle of the show gardens at Bloom last weekend, I looked around and thought, wow, how the event has grown since then. Over 100,000 people headed to Bloom in the Phoenix Park over the five days of the festival, with 21 show gardens and 11 community postcard gardens on display. There were over 300 live talks and demos and more than 100 Irish food and drink producers. Yet it has retained the essence of an event that is friendly and accessible.

Of course every event has a hiccup or two.

Most of these happen behind the scenes and go unnoticed by visitors but you couldn’t miss Donal Skehan’s smashing event on stage! There he was cooking away, taking his dish out of the oven, when all of a sudden, there was a bang and the oven door exploded. While the crowd might have been surprised, no one was more shocked than Donal himself. But being the professional he is, Donal took it all in his stride, finishing off the day with karaoke and everyone dancing around to Love is in the Air – proving in true Irish style, that the show must go on. Donal assures us that no chefs were harmed in the process and that Bord Bia had the oven replaced within an hour.

There he was cooking away, taking his dish out of the oven, when all of a sudden, there was a bang and the oven door exploded

I’m usually at Bloom on the Thursday for work, but my favourite day is the Monday. The afternoon is usually really relaxed as the crowds die down. Not this year though, I think people have copped onto the best-known secret that you can get great bargains just before the festival ends. The good weather also helped.

I often wander around the gardens on the Monday afternoon thinking what will happen all these beautiful designs when everyone has gone home and the Phoenix Park is quiet again? But thankfully, the end of Bloom isn’t the end of the road for these stunning creations. For example, every element of ‘The Grass Advantage’, the garden designed by Robert Moore and sponsored by the National Dairy Council, will be reused, replanted, or repurposed after the festival. The alder, hazel and field maple trees will be rehomed in a woodland setting in Wicklow while the weathered corrugated steel will be put back on the side of a dairy shed in Stamullen, Co Meath. The milk churn structure will be reused as a focal point in a community garden, and the stone walls and stone paving will be reused in a community allotment. If you’re heading to Ballina anytime soon, you’ll be able to enjoy many of the elements of ‘Into The Forest’ which, designed by Sarah Cotterill, was the winner of the 2025 Cultivating Talent initiative and sponsored by Westland Horticulture. Ballina Sensory Park is a community-led project currently being built which aims to support the needs of people who are neurodivergent. All the garden’s elements, including the plants, the sculptural bench, and the mossy boulders are all heading west to be enjoyed.

Next year, Bloom will be celebrating 20 years and we’re looking forward to the celebrations.