Leitrim-based Garden designer announced for Bord Bia Bloom

Bord Bia has announced that Leitrim-based show garden designer Leonie Cornelius will showcase at this year's Bord Bia Bloom.

Now in its 18th year, Ireland's favourite festival of flowers, food and fun returns to Phoenix Park, Dublin, this June bank holiday weekend from May 30 to June 3. 

While the event organisers are finalising the show line-up and getting ready to launch this year's festival, show garden designers are already hard at work preparing for what is due to be another action-packed Bord Bia Bloom. 

At the centre of the festival, the show gardens are the 'jewel in the crown' and feature bold, thought-provoking and innovative designs from a pool of talented garden designers from around Ireland.

Among these is Leonie Cornelius, an award-winning garden designer, interior architect, and author based on the Northwest coast of Ireland. 

Originally from Germany, she grew up in County Sligo before moving to Leitrim in recent years. Her design practice Wild ėden creates wild inspired, custom designs for private clients and select brands and has received various medals both in Ireland and the UK. 

Leonie's philosophy as a designer is rooted in creating spaces of joy and connection, which bring the wild and humans together for a sustainable and hopeful approach to our collective future. Since entering her first garden in 2012, Leonie has won numerous medals and awards at Bord Bia Bloom. 

This is her fifth show garden. She will be designing ÓIR -The Zarbee's Garden, sponsored by Zarbees.

From the Irish for 'golden', Óir is a wild balcony garden space that takes its inspiration from the power of the wild and the precious liquid gold produced by bees in our gardens, which also features in Zarbee's products.  

The design aims to promote connection in an often disconnected world. The garden will explore well-being ideas, how planting can attract glimmers of light and life to the smallest spaces and how the tiniest things can bring the greatest joy.

In addition to the spectacular Show Gardens at the heart of the show, the Food Village will feature more than 100 food and drink companies offering the finest Irish produce. 

There will also be an impressive schedule of live talks, music, performances, and demos across multiple stages each day, including the Sustainable Living Stage, Garden Stage, and Quality Kitchen Stage. The Postcard Gardens, supported by Tirlán CountryLife, will highlight amateur garden designs from community groups nationwide.  

For shopping enthusiasts, there is an array of quality home and garden products, including the Design and Crafts Council exhibition, Nursery Village, Retail Pavilion, Botanical & Floral Art displays and Quality Mark Plant Village. Bord Bia Bloom organisers are currently finalising the full event line-up, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets are now on sale, priced as follows: Adults €30, Concessions €25 (including seniors 66+ and students, with ID), Children Free (up to 2 children, 12 and under, go free with each adult), and Additional Children €5 each.