Bloom 2019: Doña Paula’s Argentine-inspired space wins Overall Show Garden prize
A record 11 gold medals were presented to the show gardens on display at the 2019 Bloom festival, with the overall best in show award going to the Vina Dona Paula - A Matter of Altitude garden, designed by acclaimed landscape designer Alan Rudden.
Print4 June 2019
Bloom Festival has concluded for another year, with hundreds of thousands of visitors being welcomed to the gardening, food and lifestyle festival in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Organiser Bord Bia has revealed that the highest-ever number of gold medals was awarded to the show gardens that make up the heart of the acclaimed event. 11 gold medals were presented to the gardens’ designers, including the overall show garden award which went to gardener and landscape designer Alan Rudden for his presentation, titled Vina Dona Paula – A Matter of Altitude.
Multiple Bloom gold medal winner Rudden also recently received a gold medal at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Show in London, along with Best in Show, Best Show Planting Prize and Best World Garden.
Rudden’s Garden, designed in collaboration with Santa Rita Estates’ Dona Paula, was inspired by a recent visit to Mendoza, Argentina, and depicts a reflection between the lower-altitude urban social life of the city and the rural landscape of the higher regions – where Doña Paula’s vines grow. Rudden’s garden included a semi-covered entertaining area designed for an ‘asado’ – an Argentine expression for a gathering of friends, and a raised pathway representing the higher vineyards of Mendoza.
The Bloom show gardens were inspected by a team of seven independent expert judges over two days before the festival opened to the public, with medals presented on the opening day.
Speaking about the awards, Gary Graham, Bloom manager, Bord Bia, said that they are thrilled to announce the record 11 gold medals for this year’s show gardens. “Bloom is a showcase for the best of what the Irish horticultural industry has to offer,” said Graham, “and this result proves that our show garden designers are on par with some of the best in the world when it comes to their skill, attention to detail and creative flair.
“The delivery of these spectacular spaces takes an immense amount of hard work and dedication over months, if not years, and we are incredibly proud of what our garden designers have achieved here today,” he said.
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