Benny’s Blooming success!

Monaghan based designer Benny Magennis has won a Silver-Gilt medal at this year’s Bloom in the Phoenix Park for his ‘Embracing the Elements’ Garden.

The garden, dubbed a “meadow with a message” by its creator, placed in the Large Concept Garden category.

Creator Benny grew up surrounded by Monaghan’s dairy farms in the rural area of Clontibret, where he gained an appreciation for sustainable dairy production methods, the importance of protecting Ireland’s biodiversity and an interest in design inspired by his siblings.

“For the last ten weeks all I’ve been doing is looking at hedges while driving home,” he said, specifying the beautiful bloom on the Hawthorne bush which is abundant in Clontibret’s hedgerows.

Benny has picked up beautiful, rural Clontibret and put it on display at the Phoenix park, however not without its modernity. In the centre of the garden are large transparent, reflective boxes made using sustainable materials, symbolising the presence of cloud-based platforms in modern day farming and paying “homage to the Irish climate.”

“You want to be a bit bold, and you want to be a bit adventurous.”

“What I’ve tried to do is marry a contemporary minimalist sculpture in a wild countryside field and everything went well.

Farmers are using cloud-based technology on their herds, monitoring what they eat, their heart rates and how much they are walking on a daily basis.

“It’s recognising the gradual movement towards cloud-based technology,” Benny explained, detailing the new herd technology is “just like fit bits for humans.”

“It’s futuristic farming; farmers looking forward rather than looking back and trying new ways of farming.”

Benny listed a few common plants contained in the garden, Hawthorne hedge, Guelder-rose, silver birch, among other common species in the area. The presence of red clover acts as a natural replacement for fertilisers with its deep roots providing a source of nitrogen in the soil, lessening the need for pesticides or slurry.

In April, the Department of Agriculture offered an incentive to farmers where they can potentially receive €300/hectare if they use multi-species swards along hedgerows and waterways, an initiative he has harnessed in his project.

“They’re [The National Dairy Council] trying to encourage biodiversity by offering natural swards to farmers.”

The Monaghan designer is attending the festival for the second time after winning Silver for ‘The Minions Garden’ in 2022.

He is joined by Declan McKenna, also from Monaghan, who has been awarded silver for ‘The Know, Act, Prevent Garden’ highlighting safety practices when using garden chemicals.

Bord Bia’s Bloom is now celebrating its 17th year and attracts over 110,000 visitors annually.