Anne McKenna GCAI on - Why Bloom? Why bother?

Last weekend I went to Bloom. I must admit to being a bit cynical about the whole thing, having visited once before (the first year it was run), and having heard countless members questioning the benefit to their businesses, given that they were outside Dublin, the Pale or Leinster.

In addition, & despite our optimistic nature, there’s not one of us not a little windswept by the mixed weather (to say the least) we’ve experienced this selling season, so from the get go I was probably less open to the event than it warranted.

Well I was wrong to be cynical. The plant pavilions are stunning, the Organic School garden offers plenty of exciting & inspiring take home ideas and the display gardens are of the highest quality, and that’s not to mention all the ideas for children, the artisan food pavilions, the many stages with seminars on food & gardening and the festival atmosphere created by the music stage. Bloom 2012 is a testament to the time, energy & commitment Bord Bia have for the gardening industry.

Most of all though, Bloom could be great for us. We should be raving about Bloom to our customers and staff, to our network & to anyone who’ll listen. This is a tremendous event for our industry. The feel good associated with it could lift all boats, including yours.

• Encourage your customers to go, they’ll come back enthused and raring to get gardening, which can only be good for you.
• Encourage your staff to go, buy them tickets, it’s money well spent. Equip them with cameras & challenge them to come back with no fewer than 10 creative & inspiring ideas they can use in your business. Give a prize to whoever brings the greatest number of implemented ideas to the table.
• Go yourself, for the same reasons you’d send your staff, but also to reignite your passion for plants & gardening & to remind us why we’re in this business

One word of warning though. Pitched as artisan, the catering doesn’t quite live up to its name, with a couple of shining exceptions. I suggest that you don’t arrive hungry and don’t expect breakfast, although I’m reliably informed that you can do quite well on the free samples available in the artisan supplier pavilions!

If I’m saddened by anything, it’s that the independent garden centre sector is not well represented at Bloom. Yes, it’s wonderful to see O’Meara’s & Orchard, Newlands & several others there, and they’ve done a splendid job creating inspiring displays. But how do we offer strong promotion to independent garden centre at an event like this? This is why we must have a presence next year. We must shout about how inspiring & exciting & creative & unique independent garden centres in Ireland can be. Why it’s important to visit your local independent garden centre in Donegal, Kerry, Westmeath, Wexford, Mayo & all those other gardening trailblazers across Ireland. The campaign starts right here, today.

Source: Hortitrends News Desk

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