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irish basketmakers association

kathleen....
kathleen....

Basket making on a landscaping weblog…? You better believe it!

It is an amazing craft and brilliant to watch…really it is. But more I like the fact that ‘most work with natural materials such as willow, rush, straw and hedgerow materials’ – says the leaflet that IBA secretary Kathleen Mc Cormick gave to me.

I had met Kathleen at bloom in the phoenix park in June. The association [at this time and that I am aware] doesn’t have a website but you can contact them through their email address basketbarn [at] ireland [dot] com or through the Crafts Council of Ireland.

Kathleen is a lovely woman and as she explains if you have any other queries just conatct her and she’ll put you in touch with the right people in your area. Go on! Give it a go…. most of the materials you need are right in front of you 😉

UPDATE: 1st February 2010 I got this email in from Kathleen

Peter, true to your word, you did make a flick of the interview.

I was in Cornwall visiting my daughter and her family when my grandson( Isaac 14yrs) clicked on something and up came your interview! Good man and I thank you. I would love to have it linked to my website if that was possible. It is www.basketbarn.ie, Hope to see you in 2010 at Bloom. I might even do a woven (fabric) instalation for the CCoI if my suggestion is accepted. God loves a tryer and judging from your efforts you are in that category.

Warm regards, Kathleen

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Irish Beekeeping

When I was in bloom I got to meet some people you may never get a chance to nab a quick interview with… In this interview I meet with Graham Hall of The Irish Bee Keepers Association….

before you watch it…. he was perched on the higher part of the tree base and I on the lower hence my looking slightly uncomfortable 😉 …nonetheless, great information a great association and an absolute gentleman.

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the bloom in the park ’09 experience

The sun is splitting the skies, the Phoenix Park looks spectacluar…. you simply can’t imagine what a show Bloom in the Park has turned out to be.

To only mention the gardens is, maybe, what I should be doing…. but, as a garden builder and designer at Bloom – they are all [seriously] amazing and I simply can’t be pushed to just pick one. Anyone who designs and/ or builds a garden here is a genius in my eyes 😉 I will however give an over view of the  entire Bloom experience & some of the interesting people I met on my sabatical 😆

The beautiful Maeve Desmond [International PR for Bord Bia] lets you know what you can expect to see…

If kids entertainment is what you really want…? Go meet the wonderful Orla from Imaginosity. They have an amazing kids interactive garden event [amongst many things] going on just behind the tea rooms at the visitor centre. Go see. Bring the kids you’ll love it…..

More interesting people….. Ever wondered what The Irish Wildlife Trust really do… ?

Of course I met literally hundreds of people that I knew…. here’s a few quick snaps for you to get a gist of what else is going on.

And last but not least….. do get there early. It’s well worth it…. but, I’m guessing the traffic will be a little crazy-er than the Thursday. That said, it is the All-Ireland of garden shows…

To the big question…. would I go again? 110% absolutely yes. [I’ll be back on saturday] I loved every second of it. I got a great chance to speak to the public, the people involved and the traders… One girl sold out of bread in the food stall within 3 hours ?!! Another lady I spoke thought it was great value for money…. others felt it was better laid out this year and that there was more seating…. call it what you like, compliment what you wish… but honestly, the only complaint I heard was that the sun had been shining too much and extra watering would be required in order to have the gardens looking their best for tomorrow 🙂

Do go. Do enjoy. Do let me know what you think after. My opinion 5/5. Well deserved. Take a bow Bord Bia. Bulaidh Bós Mór 😉

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Bloom 2007 – The Morris Minor Garden

donegan gardens bloom (2)

No Rubber Soul. Silver Medal Winner. My Garden for Bloom 2007.

I love this garden. I really do. I had no sponsor. I was advised not to do it. Nobody knew what Bloom was really and although I had won awards for garden design and landscaping, this was my first *show* garden. I don’t even think I knew what a weblog was when I did this garden so there really doesn’t exist that many photographs of  ‘No rubber- soul’ the garden. For some reason or another it became know as the Car-Den. Enjoy!

Peter Donegans garden design ‘No Rubber- Soul’ won silver in the large garden category in the inaugural year of Bloom in the Phoenix Park Friday 1st June 2007. During the 20 day deadline over 1,500 plants; 50 square metres of rolled lawn; 4 tonne of recycled compost; 5 tonnes of recycled bark chippings; 6 tonnes of recycled tree stumps one 1965 morris minor and an outdoor flat screen television.

Despite the rainfall over the bank holiday weekend over 50,000 people still flocked to see the unsponsored garden. No decking, no paving, no additives or preservatives…. Imagine sitting within two thirds of a 1965 Morris Minor, watching the television, smokes plumes through the front grill of your car and you sit back and watch nature and plant life grow around you. This is the garden that has no rubber but lots of soul. Built from 100% recycled and/ or recyclable products. Take a trip back to 1965 when men used shovels and gardens had soul.

Built to commemorate the many Irish men with initially, great intentions who promise to restore and rebuild projects but sometimes are never fully completed; it has been slightly adapted to via audio visual equipment to become an entertainment area of sorts and it should give the appearance that whilst unwillingly forgotten, the life of the garden continued to flourish around it.

….and of course there was this. genius.

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bloom ’09 caption competition winner….

To see the competition – click here.

To hear the winner announced…… watch the video!

A huge thanks to Dublins 98 fm Dave for picking the winner for me

[disclaimer: *all complaints should be directed to Dublins 98fm’s Dave Moore click here to read his blog terms and conditions and apply no Dj’s were harmed in the filming of this video* 😆 ]

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