Bord Bia Bloom, Ireland’s most celebrated festival of gardening, food, and sustainable living, returns for its 20th year this June bank holiday weekend. From vibrant show gardens and delicious local food to inspiring talks and hands-on workshops, Bloom signals the start of summer and is a great day out for all ages. Homegrown horticulture heroes Diarmuid Gavin, Marie Staunton, Jimi Blake, Kitty Scully, David Maxwell and T.J. Maher are among the stellar line-up of local and international speakers and experts that will appear over the ‘Bloom’ bank holiday weekend. Bord Bia Bloom returns to its home in the Phoenix Park from Thursday May 28th – Monday, June 1st, 2026.
Bord Bia Bloom 2026
Attendees will get to enjoy 20 spectacular Show Gardens which will feature creative storytelling, innovative design techniques and inspiring planting displays on a range of themes, including health and wellbeing, the environment, and entertainment. Among the new organisations involved this year are Multiple Myeloma Ireland’s ‘Rooted in Resilience’ garden designed by David Negus and ‘Met Éireann’s 90th Anniversary: A walk through Ireland’s changing climate’ garden designed by Paul Dunne and Padraic Woods.
Bloom will also welcome some new garden designers, including the RHS Chelsea Flower Show award-winning Joshua Fenton, and the 2026 winner of Bord Bia’s Cultivating Talent initiative, Jack Donovan. Jack, who holds a Bachelors in Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering from TCD and a B.ARCH in Architecture from TUD, will design a small garden ‘Alltar’, which will celebrate the overlooked ecologies that arise in the margins of a city.
Other popular garden features will return, including the Garden Stage featuring green-fingered experts Diarmuid Gavin, Marie Staunton, Jimi Blake, Kitty Scully and David Maxwell, along with BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost. Gardening fans can also visit the petite Postcard Gardens, Nursery Village, Expert Plant Clinic presented by Irish Garden magazine, and avail of the popular Plant Creche.
Commenting, Kerrie Gardiner, Head of Show Garden and Horticulture Content said, “Over the course of Bloom’s 20 years we have seen some profound changes in how people engage with and celebrate the living landscape. We have an excellent standard of garden designers and landscapers in Ireland, and it has been fantastic to see the innovation and creativity at Bloom each year. This, coupled with a younger visitor base, an increased focus on functional and regenerative gardening, demonstrates that people are feeling connected to nature and wanting to engage more, which is incredibly positive. We are confident that this year’s horticultural content will offer something for new enthusiasts and seasoned hobbyists alike!”
A masterclass in sustainable living
Since its first event in 2007, Bord Bia Bloom has doubled in size and now attracts more than 100,000 attendees to a 70-acre site over five days. This year, there is much to celebrate as Bloom has become the first event in Ireland to achieve the ISO 20121: 2024 Event Sustainability standard*. The accreditation marks an important milestone in Bloom’s ongoing journey to be a global leader in event sustainability. The event operates under the ‘Leave No Trace’ principle to ensure that the outdoor site is restored to its natural state each year, and organisers have implemented a host of environmental initiatives such as switching to Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel, installing two biodigesters onsite, reducing food waste, and encouraging sustainable transport, among others.
While soaking up the tranquil surrounds of the Phoenix Park, attendees can also enjoy inspiring talks on the Sustainable Living Stage, sponsored by Certa, with sustainability expert Jo Linehan, Common Knowledge founder Harrison Gardiner and Hometree co-founder Matt Smith among the line-up. Attendees can also meet some of Ireland’s leading biodiversity organisations in the Conservation Village and learn more about trees, plant health and growing fresh produce at home at the Horticulture is Life stage.
With 300 performances, talks and demos taking place across six stages over the ‘Bloom’ bank holiday weekend, there will be plenty of opportunities to grow, taste and learn. Further line-up announcements will be made by organisers, who are encouraging people to mark their calendars and avail of advance ticketing.
Tickets
Early-bird tickets are available until March 16th, and can be purchased on bordbiabloom.com (priced from €25, excluding booking fee). Children under 16 go free, and up to two children are included with every adult ticket purchased, making it the perfect family day out.
Visit bordbiabloom.com for further information, and follow @bordbiabloom on Instagram and @bordbia on Tik Tok for more festival updates.
