A LIMERICK show garden designer was awarded Best in Category at the thirteenth annual Bloom festival which recently took place in the Phoenix Park, Dublin this week.
Awarded Best in Category for planting, Maeve O’Neill is a garden designer from Realise Landscape Architects.
Raised in Limerick, Maeve from the Old Cratloe Road, studied fine art, sculpture and the Principals of Teaching Art in Limerick College of Art and Design.
Maeve’s garden design called ‘Grounded’ explored the need to educate people on the language of mental illness in Ireland, and she worked with a blueprint of making connections and breaking down stigma around mental health issues.
The garden was created in association with mental heath advocate bodies, Janssen, Aware and See Change Growing Conversations.
Maeve, used perennial plants and grasses, granite, water and weathered steel. 25 individual large cut piece of quarried stone, two glacial boulders and in another part of the garden, there was a bridge of steel and kiln dried oak, with inspirational words etched into each piece created by the mental health group members.
New Desmond District Flower Club member Kathleen Barrett won Silver Gilt for her entry in the ‘The Art of Surprise’ AOIFA Category.
And Nayana Sandur also from Limerick was awarded a Silver Medal for her “Apple malus Domestica ‘Ross Non Pareil’” Botanical and Floral Art entry.
This year’s event, which was officially opened by Bloom Patron, President Michael D. Higgins reflected the groundswell of national support towards living more sustainably in order to address the issue of climate change.
Exhibits ranged from show gardens highlighting water conservation, the damage of plastics pollution in our oceans and the importance of pollinator and bee-friendly plants; to the community postcard gardens which encourage attendees to reduce plastic waste, recycle and grow their own food.
Also on offer were the Bord Bia Food Village featuring impressive horticultural displays, talks on the impact of climate change on the food industry and a range of new food and drink product launches with a green twist.
