Gowna man scoops bronze

Innovative Garden Designer James Comiskey put in an amazing performance at what he termed the All-Ireland championship final in the gardening world over the June bank holiday weekend in the Phoenix Park when he scooped a bronze medal. James told The Anglo-Celt that he was thrilled to win a bronze medal at his very first attempt and intends to compete in future years. The experience gained on this occasion will be invaluable in the future, he enthused. The standard was exceedingly high and James submitted a design of a garden measuring five meters by five meters. There were a total of 25 entrants and more than 55,000 people flocked to the Phoenix Park in the sunshine to the Bord Bia Bloom festival to witness the creativity and genius of all the competitors. The Gowna man who landscaped gardens for the rich and famous in New York, is now hoping to establish his own business. His feat is all the more remarkable due to the fact that he only decided to enter the competition at the last minute. Most of the other entrants would have been planning their concepts and designs around nine months in advance. James pointed out that he was laid off from work in January and decided to give these garden design finals a go. He had just around one month to put his entire garden design idea in place and he had to source his plants at the last minute. The wooden pergola used in the garden design was manufactured by Martin Grogan of Grogan Timber products. James says the superb design and construction of the pergola really caught the imagination of the judges and the admired the proportions and the overall effect. They were also very impressed with his creative water feature. There was great interest from the general public in all the various aspects of his garden and the pergola is now on its way to a garden in Renalagh. James revealed that he had formed a business partnership with Grogan Timber Products, whereby they will manufacture the pergolas and he will erect them as part of future garden designs. James told The Anglo Celt that the aim of his garden design was to show that a limited space and budget should not restrict what you can put in your garden. The garden was set in a new housing development with residents on all sides. The vertical planning scheme, together with the pergola, provided cover for a person in the garden. Congratulating James on his win, the chief executive of Bord Bia said that James"s design was a big hit with visitors to the show. Aidan Cotter said that three key themes resonated strongly with visitors, namely garden design on a budget, growing your own, and support for local food producers. 'These themes, so much in tune with the current environment, have captured the imagination of the public and feedback from visitors has been universally positive. 'Bloom has once again proven to be an outstanding platform for the promotion of Irish horticulture and food,' said Mr. Cotter.