Sometimes  I am not the best at making the effort to do something different, go somewhere different or plan something different... it is almost always much easier to let life happen but..... I should learn that when I do take the initiative or make plans it is almost always a postive decision........I think because I am used to people telling me... 'You are so busy', ....'Stop rushing around' ..(..and with working fulltime and busy home/kids it goes with the territory)...I often take the easy option of just being 'Busy Doing Nothing' when I don't have to.....!!!

But... with July approaching - which means holiday time and no school I am 'planning' to be a lot more proactive this summer....so .... we would love visitors...lots.......!!!!

And so..... to get me in the mood for gardening which I have not had time to even start yet...but there's still time.... I was so glad to have a Mother/Daughters Day Out the weekend before last...Despite the ongoing drizzle we really enjoyed visiting Bloom - http://www.bloominthepark.com/   Ireland's biggest Garden Festival, which was held from 2nd to 6th June in Phoenix Park.... although it was the fifth and biggest show yet it was my first time to visit.. but definitely not my last....

Things I didn't enjoy......

~the grey sky and unceasing drizzle that got heavier as the day wore on...

~the carvery lunch that we felt compelled to dine on when the 'nice' restaurant was fully booked...

~the LOOOOONG queue for the ATM machine and the SLOOOOW process while we waited for it to 'spit' out some cash to us... I think that everyone thought we were cleaning out all the cash as we were so long waiting for our transaction to go through....

Things I did enjoy...

~the company.....

~Artisan Food Market.... We spent quite a long time sampling the best Ireland has to offer in ..cheeses... relishes... salad dressings.....organic juices....I could go on but suffice it to say that was worth travelling for in itself!!....

~the different show gardens (27 in all)

While I did not take any photos of us sampling the fresh produce.....!!!:) here are some of the gardens on display that day....

The Insect Hotel.....always on duty!!

I felt compelled to check out the School Garden'!! This was pretty cool....

The School Garden...

The Wormery....

I inherited one from Seedsavers at school just before Christmas (first time I ever got a present like that!!:().. It stayed for a while at the end of the classroom and we cautiously peeked in at it from time to time and maybe we forgot to give them enough shredded paper to dine on over Christmas but .. when I came back after the Christmas Holidays and met a few on the 'inmates' on the floor I had an 'Oliver' moment in that ''I'd think I'd better think it out again...!!!'

However before I could do anything I think my principal who was even more squeamish about them than I took matters into her own hands, had a quiet word with the caretaker and I arrived in the following Monday morning to a note where the worms used to be....saying... 'Dear Teacher - we have moved to the shed.. Signed...the Worms.' So, on spotting the wormery at Blooms I thought a picture was in order!!

Another nice project!

This was really appealing....no need to water!!

The Recyled Garden...

Everything in this garden was made from recycled materials....can't believe the guy who managed to make the wine bottle border was able to keep such a straight line!!!

Close-Up..

Can you guess whose garden this is?

Actually the photos just happened to load backways so if you are not up on your literature or have forgotten just scroll down to find out.....!!!!

Easy... wasn't it?!!

Am sure you did not need these clues!!!

Sea.! Had to be....Alice i nGáirdín na n-Iontas (Alice in Wonderland)

Live Cooking Demo!!

Quaint...

Japanese Garden....

This one appealed to so many....

This was supposed to be a water garden of sorts.... did not really appeal to me... Although I love water as a feature in a garden this was altogether too silent and stagnant-looking although it may with the background suit a public park or something.....

Reminds me of my childhood...Foxgloves..

Not sure if they are bird feeders or what but they add a nice touch to a garden...

The Lyric FM Garden....the music emanating from this garden was just divine but... am not sure I would relax here on these ??grid seats.  You may gather from the 'worm story' that I would be wondering what sort of insect wildlife might join me... if I hadn't squished them when I sat down that is!!!!!:)

Thumbelina's Garden.....'Being small in a big world'

This was the first garden we saw - (remember the photos loaded last to first)... I liked it....would add a bit of colour to any garden.....as they described it...'A visually exciting garden...easily maintained.'....

Funky!!

Maureen - you are in this one!!!!

No...Eileen, you do not need any more garden furniture!!!....but it is nice...

Thanks for a great day...