DREAM GARDENS AT BLOOM
For virtual Bloom 2021, Bord Bia worked with seven Bloom award-winning show garden designers to create seven designs that the public could implement in their own gardens. Easy Steps to Dream Gardens included a full suite of plans, planting plans, and hints and tips available on the Bord Bia Bloom website.
The initiative was supported by a concerted social media campaign, and with point of sale in 103 garden centres nationwide. All of the plants listed were readily available from Irish nurseries.
To demonstrate how the designs work in reality, how they would suit the average sized garden, and to encourage the public to engage with their gardens at home, Bord Bia brought two of the Dream Gardens to life at Bloom 2022: The Nature Enthusiast’s Garden by Jane McCorkell, and The Shared Spaces Family Garden by Nicola Haines. They were not judged as show gardens.
This campaign has proven to be a huge success, with both the industry and the public. It resulted in more than 19,383 visits to the Dream Gardens section of the website alone, and over 18,500 downloads of the garden designs and planting plans in the 12 months from June 2021 to June 2022. ✽
GREEN CITIES AT BLOOM Bord Bia sponsored a large Green Cities garden at the 2022 Bloom Show, as part of the three-year EU co- funded Green Cities for a Sustainable Europe campaign. The garden was a visual representation of the type of green landscaping it would be ideal to include as part of new construction projects around Ireland, using Irish grown plants. It was manned throughout the show, to answer queries from the public, to explain the rationale behind the garden, and to emphasize the environmental, health, biodiversity, and economic benefits of green spaces in cities, as well the importance of using local plants. The garden, designed by James Purdy and installed by Silverstream Landscapes, generated significant interest from the public due to the flowing lines and naturalistic look. The garden partnered with Dublin and Limerick city councils, who used the opportunity to showcase their own green initiatives. The garden was well received by the public, and achieved substantial coverage in the press, in online media, and in video media. Further regional coverage is expected in the coming weeks. Several useful contacts have also been made with county councils, including those who would have liked to take part, but were unable to due to staffing issues. ✽ |
MUSHROOM PROMOTION IN THE UK
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, and Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity with special responsibility for horticulture, Senator Pippa Hackett, secured €210,000 of funding from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) fund to support the Irish mushroom sector. This BAR funding of €210,000 supports a sectoral promotional campaign that seeks to ensure that UK consumers are dynamically reminded of the nutritional and taste benefits of cooking with mushrooms. This exciting campaign of TV ads (June), social media activity (July-December), and outdoor activity (October) is designed to increase consumption of Irish mushrooms in the UK this summer/autumn. ✽ |
Bord Bia has been working with CMP, Monaghan Mushrooms, Walsh Mushrooms, and producer organisations to deliver a promotion in the UK, to boost mushroom sales in this important market for Irish mushrooms. The Irish mushroom industry relies on the UK export market for 85% of its sales. Annually, 60,000 tonnes of mushrooms are exported to the UK, worth approximately €151 million in 2021.
BODY AND SOUL EVENT 17TH-19TH JUNE 2022
EU FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CAMPAIGN – 12TH MAY 2022
WORLD POTATO CONGRESS
