About the garden – Small garden
The GIY Balcony Garden demonstrates how even tiny urban spaces can produce significant amounts of fresh, nutrient-dense, delicious vegetables, yielding up to €1,000-worth (100kg) of food in a year.
Beautiful and functional, it showcases the potential of apartment living, where residents can create the garden of their dreams, grow food productively, interact with plants and nature, get their hands dirty, and relax and de-stress.
The design features distinct zones with a seating area, edible ‘woodland’ with an espalier plum tree and alpine strawberry understory; composting, a potting zone, a vertical herb wall planter, and vegetable and edible flower beds. It is planted with highly productive varieties of leafy greens, tomatoes, herbs, peppers, salad crops, fruit and root veg.
This inspiring garden shows that growing your own food is not only possible in cities, but also vital in tackling rising food costs and urban food deserts, improving biodiversity, and promoting wellbeing.
About the Designer
Cornelia Raftery graduated from the National College of Art & Design with a B. Des in Industrial Design Engineering. She pursued a career in exhibition design in London, designing for Motorola, British Telecom, Alcon, and Abbott & Alamo among others.
Barry Kavanagh is a multi-award-winning natural landscape designer, teacher and social entrepreneur. He has won many awards at Bloom, including two gold medals, a Designers’ Choice Award and a People’s Choice Award.
About the Sponsor
Cairn is a home and community builder, leading the market in creating sustainable foundations upon which Ireland can thrive.
What is planned for this garden after Bloom?
All elements of this garden will be rehomed following the festival.
Designer Information
Email: bandakav@gmail.com
Website: www.patchireland.com
