Super Garden sprang onto our screens tonight, introducing viewers to a new batch of budding gardeners. Watch it back on RTÉ Player now.
Each year, five nature lovers take on the challenge of designing a stunning home garden worthy of going to Bord Bia Bloom, Ireland’s premier garden show.
With just three weeks and a budget that amounts to €15,000, each designer takes over one garden in a new social housing estate – their blank canvas – to make something that will impress the judges.
This year’s location is Millrace in Ashbourne, County Meath, a new social housing development by Meath County Council. Five families, who had just moved into their new homes, had the privilege of seeing their gardens transformed for the competition.
This year’s expert panel of judges are: Brian Burke, representing Woodie’s, who is a previous Super Garden winner; Kerrie Gardiner Bord Bia Bloom’s Show Gardens Manager; Carol Marks, Manager of Horticulture Bord Bia; and Monica Alvarez, a garden design lecturer also representing Dulux.
The first episode of the series introduced viewers to up-and-coming gardener Eoighan Mountaine Barry, from Lucan, Co Dublin.
Gardening and the outdoors are in his blood – his parents actually met while working in a garden centre! His father runs his own landscape business, so summer holidays and mid-term breaks always involved helping his dad from a young age.
Walking into his assigned garden, Eoighan described the plot as a “blank canvas”, which he hoped to transform into a social haven for single dad, Anthony, and his daughter, Alicia.
A student of Trinity College, Alicia says she would love to have a garden that was suitable for hanging out with friends, while Anthony wanted a dedicated spot for the BBQ.
With this in mind, as well as Anthony’s preference for shades of orange and blue, Eoighan set to work on creating an ‘all-seasons garden’, featuring a pergola with comfortable seating and colourful glass blocks, as well as some tidy seating by the BBQ.
When the judges came to view his work, they praised his colour combinations but were concerned that the design didn’t feature enough “height”.
Watch the episode back on RTÉ Player now.
Plants, Bricks and Paint List
Fragaria vesca – Alpine Strawberry
Hydrangea paniculate Bobo
Acer conspicuum ‘Red Flamingo’
Selection of herbs and Alpine Strawberry
HELLEBORUS ‘Winter Moonbeam’
Taxus bacatta
Silene flos-cuculi ‘Petite Jenny – Lychnis
Heuchera palace purple
Delphinium Highlander Bolero Larkspur
Stokesia Mega Mels – Aster
Sedum Autumn Joy
Verbena bonariensis
Petroselinum Crispum – Parsley
Mentha – Mint
Thymus – Thyme
Arbutus unedo – Strawberry Tree
Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster – Feather Reed Grass
Ocimum basilicum – Basil
Pinus mugo Mughus – Mountain Pine
Foeniculum Vulgare – Fennel
Campanula
Kniphofia – Red hot poker
Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup – Coneflower
Thymus vulgaris – Common Thyme
Stipa tenuissima – Ponytail grass
Allium Schoenoprasum – Chives
Astrantia major ‘Star of Billion’
Trachelospermum jasminoides – Star Jasmine
Selection of salads and vegetables
Carrots
Cynara cardunculus – Artichoke thistle
Olea europaea – Olive Tree
Thymus vulgaris – Common Thyme
Laurus nobilis – Bay Laurel
Helichrysum italicum – Curry Plant
Knautia macedonica Melton Pastels Pincushion Flower
Crocosmia – Disco Dancer
Salvia officinalis ‘Aurea’ – Golden Sage
Pittosporum tenui – Tom Thumb
Digitalis Spice Island – Perennial Foxglove
Salvia officinalis Tricolor – Sage
Rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm – Cone Flower
Digitalis Spice Island – Perennial Foxglove
Hosta ‘Patriot’
Thymus serpyllum – Creeping Thyme
Salvia rosmarinus – Rosemary
Achillea millefolium Pomegranate, Tutti Fruiti – Yarrow
Dryopteris erythrosora – Autumn Fern
Hosta – Tears in Heaven
Eoighan’s Bricks & Paint.
Hard Landscaping
Kilsaran Connemara Walling Raven White 3 Size Mix 75mm
Kilsaran Connemara Walling Capping Raven White 600 x 200mm
KilsaranInishBlock Rustic Rumbled 200 x 50mm
Kilsaran Massimo Flag Sorrento 800 x 400mm
Belmont 10mm
KPRO Crete Post 10
KPRO Crete 3:1 General Purpose Sand & Cement
Paint: Cuprinol Colour Card.
Urban Slate.
Honey Mango.
Green Orchid.
Cornflower.
Beach Blue
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