PORTACH- Hortisculptures and Anú Green – Best in Show- Engaging Spaces Bloom 2011

Portach - Anu Green and Peter Little from Hortisculptures, Cork

There is so much to see at this years Bloom and the standard of the show gardens is really high. This is reflected in the awards with the judges giving a medal to each garden for the first time since the garden festival started. Away from the main show gardens stuck in an unflattering corner of the outdoor retail area is a garden that is designed to create the atmosphere of a woodland bog. This is Portach designed  by Rita Higgins & Paul Quirke from Anú Green and Peter Little from Hortisculptures, Cork. Despite the visual distraction of bight red crepe stalls and bustling activity all round, the garden entered in the category of Engaging Space achieves its aim.

Created using natural materials and planted with a combination of both native and organic plant species to maximize biodiversity, the moist and magical atmosphere of a woodland garden oozes from the the earth and the structures. Constructed beneath the dome of a massive sculpture that mimics a woodland tree canopy, mosses and foliage provide a verdant foil for airy flowers of Rodgersia flowers. Pendant pods are cosy enclosures dangling from the dome, while the bog oak sculpture and framework is reflected in a still water pool. An intriguing garden that blends art and horticulture, wood and steel, natives and exotics; a beautiful garden combining humans’ artistry with nature’s magic.

central sculpture of bog wood and steel

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IN THE TRANQUIL CENTRE OF THE WATER’S EDGE- BEST IN SHOW GARDEN BLOOM 2011

Oliver & Liat Schurmann - At The Waters Edge

Our second day at Bloom. We started by doing what should have been doing at the end of the day. Imagine sitting in a sunken garden under blue skies surrounded by greenery and tranquility, beauty and liquidity. Hanna paddled in cool water, well at least the soles of her feet caused ripples in the shallow flow that ran over the stone walk way to the sunken island in a tranquil water-scape.

Oliver & Liat Schurmann - At The Waters Edge

Few garden designers manage to capture atmosphere and mood in show gardens, at least not in the same way as Oliver and Liat Shurmann of Mount Venus Nurseries do it. Their entry into this year’s Bloom’s show gardens is to my mind the obvious choice of best in show, gladly, the show judges agreed. Plane trees create seclusion from the outside, their open canopies playing with reflections on the water. Borders of green and exotic foliage are dressed with euphorbia flowers, adding a sulphurous luminosity to the mellow planting. The sylvanian atmosphere embraces the water filled garden, where in the centre a sunken island invites you to cross a slightly submerged stone path. Circled around a central round channel, four stylish and modern seats demand that you rest and soak in the atmosphere. A trickle of water flows beneath your feet, creating a whirlpool pattern on the concrete surface. The mirror-like water  surrounding the low seating area is an an ever changing canvass of reflection and light. Tree silhouttes, greens and reds of foliage play with the surface of the pool.

Oliver & Liat Schurmann - At The Waters Edge

As a backdrop, a pillared wall frames tall windows that display sculpture, art work created by Liat. Somehow this garden manages to both soothe the mind, stimulate the senses and feed the soul. It was with reluctance that we dragged ourselves away from the sunken retreat, there was a long busy day ahead.

Oliver & Liat Schurmann - At The Waters Edge

There are many other great gardens at Bloom 2011, small, medium and large as well as engaging spaces. Tomorrow I will return to the show gardens with views of other Gold medal winners and personal favourites.

Oliver & Liat Schurmann- At The Waters Edge

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THURSDAY 2ND JUNE- FIRST DAY AT BLOOM

Silver Medal for The Garden School stand at Bloom 2011

Our day started early. With a raucous choir of bird song under a low grey sky, I watered the plants in the tunnels at home. We fed the cats, drank some coffee and loaded the last few items into the car. We closed the garden gate in Mayo at 6 am and hit the road for Dublin. Just after 8.30 am we entered the Phoenix Park. Last minute preparations continued for about 90 minutes until the doors opened on the garden festival, Bloom 2011 commenced. The judges gave us a silver medal for our interactive educational stand in the floral pavilion, which is a nice recognition of the preparation and work which we had carried out. It was a good start for what proved to be a very busy day, As the morning progressed the low grey cloud which had stretched all the way from Mayo to Dublin blew away in the breeze. The temperature soared and happy faces were everywhere, a blue sky stayed until the sun went down.

We did not get  a chance to see any of the show apart from our own stand and a quick glance at some of our heighbours in the floral pavilion. Kilmurry Nursery, run by the energetic Orla and Paul Woods, based in Co. Wexford won a gold medal and best in show award for nursery display. Packed with colour and floriferously desireable herbaceous perennials, a central mirror multiplies the colour display. A rich blue Delphinium hansenii ‘Independence’ caught my eye, The more demure Lychnis flos-cuculi ‘White robin’ is a supernb plant gracing their stand. We bought it from them a good few years ago and it flowers for months on end in our garden where it self sows in a polite manner. Our own stand is enhanced with Kilmurry Nursery plants. Needing height in a corner, we went searching for some interesting plant. Orla gave us three plants of Iris ‘Tol Long’. A blue flowered iris with dark desirable flower stems. One which she recommends for any reasonable garden soil, they grow it in their garden and we will soon grow it in ours.

LYCHNIS FLOS-CUCULI 'WHITE ROBIN'

IRIS 'TOL LONG' FLOWER

From our stand we could admire the beautifully blousey blooms of herbaceous peony roses on Leamore Nursery’s display. Paeonia ‘White Wings’ is a cool single white while Paeonia ‘Coral Sunset’ is a sumptuous frilly peachy pink. The floral pavilion always ahs so many plants to tempt and beautiful displays to admire. We will be up early tomorrow morning, aiming to get to Bloom early and view more of the displays and show gardens before the show opens at 10 am.

PEAONIA 'WHITE WINGS'

PAEONIA 'CORAL SUNSET' FLOWERS

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