The Bloom garden festival, which may one day rival the Chelsea Flower Show, was opened by President Mary McAleese in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
Bloom 2007 is hosted by Bord Bia and with 30 show gardens on offer, it is the largest event of its kind in Ireland. Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive of Bord Bia believes Irish garden designers can and do compete on a world stage. Bloom provides
An opportunity for the Irish horticulturalists and the designers to show their wares here at home to an Irish audience.
While Bloom judge and garden designer Andrew Wilson does not think any other festival can ever rival the Chelsea Flower Show, he thinks Bloom
Delivers a quality, a sense of vitality and energy and I think it compares very favourably with UK shows.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 31 May 2007. The reporter is Philip Bromwell.
