Galway Garden Festival

Annual Spring Garden Fair

Sunday April 6th 11am - 6pm

The Spring Garden Fair is the first event of the year at Claregalway Castle. It will feature many of Irelands best nurseries and rare plant specialists and many well-known members of Irish Specialist Nurseries Association (ISNA) for whom this will be their first event of the season.

The Spring Garden Fair is the perfect opportunity for gardeners of all levels to visit Claregalway Castle and speak informally to experts who will give advice and suggest the perfect plant choices for your garden: whatever its size, shape or aspect, making it the place you’ll want to be, to enjoy the summer ahead.

This will be a warm and special gathering to begin the Spring. An unmissable event for anyone about to start a garden, or develop their existing garden, patio, or window boxes, or wishing to enjoy good food and see handmade Irish crafts.

Come along and meet the Specialists who can address your garden problems, and are willing to share their knowledge and wisdom. It is an opportunity to buy one or two extraordinary plants at modest cost - all produced in Ireland for Irish weather conditions.

Meet friends at the Castle Tea Rooms with light refreshments and cakes available all day. Have lunch with Handsome Burger. Music with Silvermoon trad jazz will add to the pleasure of the occasion

Garden Exhibitors

Rare Plants
Boyne Garden Centre
Three Gates Florist & Nursery
Coldblow Nursery
Slug be Gone
Mulhall Obelisks
Shady Plants
Kilmurry Nursery
Leaf & Petal
Crooked Boot Farm Nursery
Garden Blooms 4 u
Muirin Beo Feed

Guest Speakers

Klaus Laitenberger

Klaus Laitenberger is the author of four gardening books: ‘Vegetables for the Irish Garden’, ‘Fruit and Vegetables for the Polytunnel and Greenhouse’ and ‘A Vegetable Grower’s Handbook’ and “The Self-Sufficient Garden”. He works as an Organic Inspector for the Organic Trust Ltd and manages a number of private gardens.
Together with his wife, Joanna, they run a seed company, specialising in the most suited vegetable varieties for the Irish climate as well as the most resistant and delicious ones (Green Vegetable Seeds).
He is contributor to various gardening magazines e.g. The Irish Garden, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, GIY magazine and Clover. Klaus also works as an organic advisor and runs gardening courses throughout the country.
More information on the courses and seeds can be found on
www.greenvegetableseeds.com
Sunday - 14.00
Jimi Blake

Plant collector / Adventurous plant hunter with a taste for the exotic / Inspirational Teacher & Creator of Hunting Brook Garden in Co Wicklow.
“My favourite flowers for a Summer border; use of colour
and plant selection for spectacular combinations”
Saturday - 13:00
Fionnuala Fallon

'A National Botanic Gardens-trained horticulturist, garden writer and flower farmer-florist with a deep-rooted love of nature, Fionnuala Fallon has been the gardening correspondent for 'The Irish Times' since 2011. Together with her photographer husband Richard Johnston, in 2015 she established the Irish Flower Farmer’, a small flower farm and floral design studio where the focus is firmly on seasonality, sustainability, and prioritising the use of Irish-grown cut-flowers and foliage.. Now based near Durrow, County Laois where the couple grow a wide range of flowers on their new organically-managed flower farm, Fionnuala combines her work as a garden writer with her work as a busy wedding and event florist.
Title of Talk
“Gardening for all seasons: How to cultivate a resilient perennial cut-flower garden using long-lived, hardy species”
Sunday - 13:00
Christopher White

Chelsea Flower Show & Bloom Gold Medalist
& creator of 3 light Nursery
“The Rose & Dahlia Gardeners Workshop”
Sunday - 15:00
Karen Williams

Karen is a member of the Flower Farmers of Ireland. She is a former Primary School teacher but now she has no time off at all in the summer as she’s busy being a sustainable florist, flower grower and garden designer.
She is passionate about biodiversity and has been planting species rich gardens, in a number of locations, for some year. These have attracted all kinds of wildlife, above and below ground. Native plants, especially self-seeded, are at the core of these gardens.
Karen is the designer behind the Flower Farmer of Ireland Silver Award in Bloom this year and was previously awarded the Gold with Riverlane Nurseries.
She is a member of Blanchardstown Gardening Group, founded by Aoife Munn and Michelle Griffin.
She is currently studying horticulture in the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin.
Saturday - 15:00
Seona Tully

Horticulturist and passionate hobbyist –
“Indoor plants – An introduction to semi hydroponics – no soil, no pots, no problem”
Saturday 12.30

Children’s Events

Marco the Alchemist
Nemo the Magician
Your Mans Puppets

Exhibitors

Botanical Art Exhibition

The Botanic Art Exhibition is a well-established attraction at the festival featuring the work of many of Irelands best known Artists; many of the paintings are for sale, along with limited edition prints.
The Exhibition will be launched at 7pm on Friday the 5th of July by Dr Marina Levitina, founder of the Lough Grainey Nature Sanctuary
Location - Banquet Hall
Galway Flower & Garden Club Location

Floral Art Competition / Growers Competition / Botanical Photography Competition / Children’s Competition
Sunday – Flower arranging demo
Location – Marque
Corrib Lace Makers Exhibition

Exhibition of Irish Lace
This exhibition will display the unique pieces created and hand stitched by Lásadóirí na Coiribe. Each handmade piece draws its inspiration from the culture, heritage, landscape, flora and fauna of Galway. Lace requires practice and precision; the result is a unique creation that reflects the artistry and skill of the maker's hands.
Two Antique Irish crochet lace wedding dresses (on loan from The traditional lacemakers of Ireland, Cork) will also be on display, threads of the past intertwined with those of the present.
Lace is delicate but highly decorative and as a group we share, promote and encourage community participation in lacemaking ensuring the continuance of these skills into the future....
Location - Banquet Hall

Shopping

Crafts

Food & Refreshments

Castle Coffee Shop – Selection of freshly prepared Cakes from Goyas Bakery & Barista style Coffees

Local Food Trucks - Handsome Burger, SKG Catering, Bartollini Pizza & Americano Ice Cream Truck

Wine Bar

Handmade crafts and Artisan foods include the best of Galway County Councils ‘Made in Galway’

Entertainment

Music programme

The Silver Moon Quintet, Galway’s much loved St Patrick's Brass Band, the Barceló Brothers, Galway Baytones, the Claregalway Community Choir and on Saturday (12pm) the spectacular new show each day at 3pm by the unforgettable Pocket Jazz Orchestra.