Bord Bia seeks to 'cultivate' show garden designers from Waterford for Bloom 2025

Bord Bia is offering show garden designers from Waterford a change to showcase their talent at Bloom 2025 through its 'Cultivating Talent’ programme.

Now entering its third year and sponsored by Westland Horticulture, the programme aims to nurture the next generation of show garden designers and horticulture professionals by offering financial support and one-to-one mentoring to a first-time Bord Bia Bloom designer. 

The ’Cultivating Talent’ programme, which is open to show garden designers in Waterford and across the country, aims to kick-start the career of  motivated show garden designers and has seen emerging talent including Joe Eustace, Nóra Tombor and Sarah Buckley design and deliver exceptional show gardens at Bord Bia Bloom in 2023 and 2024.

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Speaking about the experience, Joe Eustace who won the inaugural programme in 2023 and returned to Bord Bia Bloom with his own show garden in 2024 said: "I was following Bord Bia Bloom for years as a spectator as I had a huge interest in garden and landscape design but I would have always thought it was something that was above me. I heard about the Cultivating Talent initiative through my college network and going from a spectator to being involved has given me a huge boost as a designer. I would say to anyone thinking of it, apply, apply, apply - 100% go for it.”

The garden designer from County Kildare added: “It was a great experience. I learned so much being on-site and seeing how the experts were approaching their gardens. It allowed me to learn about the importance of producing a set of drawings that can be read and applied to the site, and the key differences between designing a show garden versus a client garden, which is where the 1:1 mentorship was invaluable.”

Kerrie Gardiner, Show Gardens and Horticulture Content Manager, Bord Bia Bloom said: “We want to create a pipeline of new talent into Ireland’s horticulture industry. Over the years, we have found that many prospective show garden designers do not put themselves forward to design a garden at Bloom as they are concerned about how it will be financed. Through this initiative, the successful finalist will be provided with funding to create the garden, along with mentoring from one of our award-winning show garden designers. We hope this attractive proposition will bring fresh faces to Bloom and provide first time designers with an opportunity to kick-start their career.

Who should apply?

Cultivating Talent is open to garden designers and landscape architects who wish to bring their first show garden to Bord Bia Bloom in 2025. Organisers are looking for designers who have a strong vision for a theme and design that communicates a unique message or story. All gardens should be designed with the environment in mind and measures to support biodiversity should be incorporated as standard.

How to apply

The closing date for applications is Tuesday, November 26, 2024 - click here for more information. 

Bord Bia Bloom takes place at Phoenix Park, Dublin from May 29 to June 2, 2025.