Bord Bia has announced the Bloom 2016 medal winners with the Overall Large Garden category award going to Alan Rudden from Westmanstown, Co. Dublin for his Chilean inspired ‘Santa Rita Living la Vida 120 Garden’.

The contemporary Latin American garden includes an alfresco dining area and a pool surrounded by Mediterranean arid planting.

Bloom first-timer James Purdy from Belfast won both the Overall Medium Garden category and Best Plant Design Award (new this year) for his ‘Podscape Garden’, which demonstrates a sustainable approach to everyday life.

Meanwhile, Oliver and Liat Schurmann, owners of Mount Venus Nursery, Mutton Lane, Dublin won the coveted Overall Small Garden category for ‘The Designer’s Back Yard’, an oasis for garden designers.

The highly experienced and renowned team of international Bloom judges, led by head judge Andrew Wilson, together with award winning garden designers and the curator of the National Botanic Gardens, spent over two days meticulously observing and deliberating before announcing the results this morning.

The judging panel awarded a total of 57 medals to show garden designers and nurseries including; 24 gold, 12 silver gilt, 13 silver and eight bronze.

Each of the judges acknowledged the exceptionally high standard of this year’s show gardens, with a record number of gold medals awarded across show gardens and nurseries.

Today at Bloom, the President Michael D. Higgins will visit the show and so will the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed.

The Department of Agriculture, IFA and National Dairy Council sponsor Barry Kavanagh’s garden “Across Boundaries”, which the Minister is expected to visits.

The gold medal winning garden expresses how social farming can play a vital role in the therapy of participants within the healthcare system.

In addition to the showgardens and floral displays, Bord Bia’s Bloom 2016 festival includes more than 100 Irish food and drink producers, 200 retailers and 50 of Ireland’s top nurseries, all providing gardening tips, artisan food, craft beer and much more to more than 100,000 visitors who are expected to attend over the five days of the festival.

Since the first year of the festival in 2007, the show has doubled in size to a 70ac site. Attendances have also skyrocketed, with Bord Bia hoping to welcome 100,000 visitors this year, compared to just 40,000 in year one.

Bloom opened its doors at 9am this morning (June 2) and will run to 6pm each day. For further information, or to purchase tickets, visit the Bloom website. There is no entry charge for children under 16 years of age.

Bloom 2016 results: Show Gardens and Nurseries:

  • Gold, Best in Category – Large: Santa Rita Living la Vida 120 Garden, sponsored by Santa Rita, designed by Alan Rudden.
  • Gold, Best in Category – Medium: Podscape Garden, sponsored by Glenisk, designed by James Purdy.
  • Gold, Best in Category – Small: The Designer’s Back Yard, sponsored by Mount Venus Nursery and Valentia Slate, designed by Oliver and Liat Schurmann.
  • Gold, Best in Category – Concept: UCD Evolution of Land Plants Garden, sponsored by UCD, designed by Dr Caroline Elliott-Kingston and Nicola Haines.
  • Gold, Best in Show – Nursery Display: Boyne Garden Centre, Slane, Co.Meath.
  • Large: Bridge the Gap, sponsored by the Chicago Park District and designed by Matthew Barrett (Concept)
  • Large: Across Boundaries, sponsored by CEDRA Fund, The Irish Farmers’ Association, The National Dairy Council, and Leitrim Development Company, designed by Barry Kavanagh (Concept)
  • Large: Crumlin Children’s Hospital Garden, sponsored by Kildare Growers, Bord na Móna, Moyvalley Stone and Peter O’Brien Landscapes, designed by Kieran Dunne and Anthony Ryan
  • Large: The Savills Garden – Face to Face, sponsored by Savills and designed by Andrew Christopher Dunne
  • Large: UCD Evolution of Land Plants Garden, sponsored by UCD, designed by Dr Caroline Elliott-Kingston and Nicola Haines
  • Medium: Podscape Garden, sponsored by Glenisk, designed by James Purdy
  • Medium: Serene Sanctuary, sponsored by Irish Country Magazine, designed by Alan Coffey in association with Alan Battersby
  • Small: The Legend of Tarzan, sponsored by Warner Brothers, designed by Oliver and Liat Schurmann (Concept)
  • The following floral displays and nurseries won Gold:
    1. Hughes Roses, Garristown, Ardcath, Co.Dublin.
    2. Camolin Potting Shed, Camolin, Co.Wexford.
    3. Springmount Garden Centre, Ballycanew Road, Gorey, Co.Wexford.
    4. Boyne Garden Centre, Slane, Co.Meath.
    5. Plant Store, Tallaght, Dublin 24.
    6. Kilmurry Nursery, Gorey, Co.Wexford.
    7. Kells Bay House and Gardens, Kells, Cahersiveen, Co.Kerry.
    8. Fuchsiavale Nurseries, Worcestershire, UK.
    9. Plants Direct, Carbury, Co.Kildare.
    10. Irish Water Plants, Strokestown. Co.Roscommon.
    11. Mr Middleton Garden Shop, 58 Mary Street, Dublin 1.
    12. Harts Nursery, Alsager, UK.
    13. Peninsula Primulas, Ards, Co.Down.
    14. Teagasc, c/o National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.
    15. Harrington Exotics, Saggart, Co. Dublin.
    16. W.S Warmenhoven, UK.
  • Large: Sculpture in the Parkland, sponsored by garden-sculptures.ie, designed by Ingrid Swan and Ruth Liddle (Concept)
  • Medium: Bremore Castle Medieval Garden, sponsored and designed by Fingal County Council and Institute of Technology Blanchardstown
  • Medium: Out the Other Side: A Garden of Hope, sponsored by Marie Keating Foundation and ROCHE, designed by Tünde Szentesi
  • The following floral displays and nurseries won Silver Gilt:
    1. Navan Garden Centre, Navan, Co.Meath
    2. O’Reilly’s Nurseries, Mountnugent, Co.Cavan
    3. Herb on Thyme, Rathangan, Co.Kildare
    4. Heritage Bulbs, Glasnevin, Dublin 11
    5. Premium Pelargoniums (Fuschiavale), UK
    6. Glens Garden Gems, East Yorkshire, UK
    7. Riverlane Nurseries, Trim, Co.Meath
    8. Blackwater Floral Accessories, Mallow. Co.Cork
    9. Three Gates Nursery and Florist, Naul, Co.Dublin
  • Medium: GOAL’s Damascus Courtyard -War and Peace, sponsored by GOAL, designed by Brian Burke (Concept)
  • Medium: Well Centred, sponsored by Nangle & Neason and Charleville Cheese, designed by Hugh Ryan (Concept)
  • Medium: Blurred Lines, sponsored by Chef Sauce, designed by Sofi Dosa
  • Medium: Super Garden – ‘Glasnevin to Granada’ (under embargo: announced at 7.30pm on RTE One)
  • Small: The Secret Life of Pets, sponsored by Universal and Sanctuary Synthetics, designed by Mark O’Loughlin (Concept)
  • The following floral displays and nurseries won Silver:
    1. Dublin School of Horticulture, Dun Laoghaire, Co.Dublin.
    2. Garden Direct, Kilmeague, Co.Kildare.
    3. Shady Plants, Clashmore, Co.Waterford.
    4. Papervale Trees, Rathfriland, Co.Down.
    5. Greenart Production, Holland.
    6. AOIFA, Bray, Co.Wicklow.
    7. Landbarn Nursery, Gorey, Co.Wexford.
    8. Cois na Tra Plants, Westport, Co.Mayo.
  • Small: Sharing the Load, sponsored by St. John of God Hospital and the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, designed by Padraic Woods (Concept)
  • Small: The Tao of Now, sponsored by Eight Oaks Holistic, designed by Fiann Ó Nualláin
  • Small: Solus Light Bulb Garden “Inspired by Ireland”, sponsored by Solus Light Bulbs, designed by Alan Rudden
  • The following floral displays and nurseries won Bronze:
    1. Devine Nurseries (Stand 1), East Yorkshire.
    2. Devine Nurseries (Stand 2), East Yorkshire.
    3. Western Plants Nursery, Skreen, Co.Sligo.
    4. Three Gates Nursery and Florist, Naul, Co.Dublin.
    5. Doran Nurseries (Irish Plants), Naas, Co.Kildare.
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