Summer inspiration and autumn advice
Where do the Bord Bia Bloom team look for inspiration? What are they doing in the garden now? And how did they handle the heatwave? We caught up with Bloom Show Gardens and Horticulture Content Manager, Kerrie Gardiner, and Show Garden Designer, Carleen Osborne, to find out what they’ve been up to post-Bloom and what they have planned for the garden in the weeks to come…
Kerrie Gardiner
Kerrie pictured with garden designer Oliver Schurmann at Bloom 2026. Image: Jack Caffrey
What inspired you this summer?
Summer really is a time to wind down project Bloom while keeping one eye on next year’s event. I try to visit as many shows and festivals as I can, many of which are music festivals, making for a great family trip. There is always something of interest. I’ve often been caught taking a picture of a planter, a seating area, or a marquee! I was in Birmingham for BBC Gardeners’ World Live in late June, and it’s a great show.
In terms of magazines, I really enjoyed the article ‘Afterglow’ by Mary Keenan in ‘The Irish Garden’, where she explores the twilight garden. That issue also included an interview with Alex Slazenger of Powerscourt Estate. The refreshed style and layout under the new editor, David Maxwell, are also great! Also, the most recent issue of ‘Compass’ magazine features a brilliant Garden & Landscape Designers Association article in which Thomas Pakenham explains how they are mad about magnolias at Tullynally. It’s now on my list to visit!
I have also listened to some of the episodes of the new podcast series ‘Outsiding’ with Adam Frost and Caitlin Moran which features conversations with celebrities about their enjoyment of being in the garden and outdoors.
What are you doing in the garden now?
I’m trying to keep weeds in check, as they typically run riot in early summer when I don’t get any time in the garden. I’m also potting up the self-seeded Erigeron karvinskianus (Mexican Fleabane), and I’ve promised to give them to a neighbour.
Also on the to-do list is pruning our beech hedge, and in a couple of weeks the mixed hedge we have along a field boundary. That has some hazelnuts, so I want to get them picked as well. I have a few plants to move this winter and a few borders that need to be planted. All in good time!
How has your garden fared in the heatwave?
I live in County Galway. Whilst it has been a very hot and dry summer, it hasn’t been as bad as other parts of the country. Our garden has been in a good few years, so most plants will tolerate the dry spell; it’s mainly the pots that needed attention. I do think we all need to consider more resilient planting as weather patterns change.
When we were away in late June and the weather was hot, I asked one of our young neighbours, Layla (my son Ewan Bo’s classmate), to come and water the plants that needed it. We grouped the plants that needed watering together to make the task a little easier. It was great to return home to find the plants doing so well, which wouldn’t have been the case without Layla’s help! We have a double water butt off our shed, but I intend to add to the collection in the coming months.
Carleen Osborne
Carleen and her husband, Nick Osborne in her ‘I Can Create That Garden with Q102’ Show Garden at Bloom 2026
What inspired you this summer?
At home in Derbyshire, England, I love ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’ on BBC Radio 4. It’s been dishing out no-nonsense gardening advice for almost 80 years and I love its combination of practical advice and gentle humour.
I’m also inspired by ‘Gardens Illustrated’; a magazine full of sumptuous photographs of beautifully designed gardens. Some of them may be beyond the reach of mere mortals like me, but there are always planting ideas, details or layouts that can be adapted to more modest gardens.
What are you looking forward to over the next few months?
As well as visiting some of the larger UK garden shows, I really enjoy supporting the many private gardeners who open their gardens to the public for charity through the National Garden Scheme in Britain.
More than 3,500 private gardens open their gates each year, raising millions of pounds for charity. I love the variety of these gardens – from beautifully designed and meticulously maintained gardens to much more informal and personal spaces.
There’s always something to take away, whether it’s a planting idea, a clever solution to a gardening problem or simply inspiration from seeing how other people garden. And, of course, they always sell very nice cakes!
What are you doing in the garden now?
There are plenty of jobs to get stuck into in the garden as summer ends:
Get plants for free. Take semi-ripe cuttings from plants such as hardy salvias and shrubs, and lift and divide established perennials such as Hosta and Achillea. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to increase the number of plants in your garden.
Start thinking about spring. Plant spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths and alliums. Daffodils can be planted from late summer onwards, while tulips are best left until later in the autumn.
Keep planting. Late summer and early autumn are a good time to plant perennials, shrubs and trees. The soil is still warm enough for roots to establish, while cooler autumn weather and hopefully some rain reduce the stress on newly planted plants.
How has your garden fared in the heatwave?
It’s been tough on our gardens, and on us as gardeners, this summer. The plants are suffering, and even some mature trees are showing signs of stress. Here in the middle of England, we’ve had no significant rain for more than three months.
Watering the whole garden simply isn’t sustainable – or practical – so I concentrate on the containers on the patio and a few newly planted specimens that are still establishing themselves.
In the longer term, I think we’ll have to change the way we garden and the plants we choose. We need to look at what has survived and thrived through these conditions and use those plants as a guide to what we grow in the future.
