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IF YOU ARE WANDERING around the Bloom festival this weekend, you may be surprised to find one of the show gardens is modelled around the European Commission.
You’d be forgiven for assuming this would mean a blue garden full of yellow stars, but it actually features 27 trees for each EU member.
The leaders on the European Council set the general direction of the EU while the European Commission, helmed by Ursula von der Leyen, drafts laws, directives and regulations on the back of the agenda set at these Council meetings.
Set up to mark Ireland’s presidency of the European Council, according to organisers the theme is ‘shared roots, common shade’.
And in case you were wondering if ‘common shade’ had anything to do with the modern-day interpretation of ‘shade’ as criticising of subtly insulting someone… well, that’s not quite it. The thinking behind the garden is to focus on shared cooperation in the union and “the power of together”.
According to the commission, these trees invite festival attendees to “reflect on the EU” and the garden aims to reflect the EU’s “long-term vision of building shared prosperity”.
Speaking to The Journal in the Phoenix Park, head of the European Commission representation in Ireland Peter Power said they’re marking the presidency but also “marking the power of togetherness”.
Power hopes the garden encourages attendees to celebrate “the success of 27 countries working together for a better future”.
The garden also features handwritten letters from children around the country containing their hopes for Ireland’s future. Power said common themes in their writing were sustainability and safety.
Tackling climate change, Power said, is something that must be done at an EU and a global level.
Power threw a little ‘common shade’ of his own when asked about the importance of countries working together on sustainability:
“Unfortunately, some of our bigger neighbours further away are less interested in this than we are, but we have to set the example, because we are the country that values the environment more than anybody else.”
No prizes for guessing who that refers to.
Though this garden might seem like a strange fit for Bloom, it is beautifully designed and the letters in particular are a lovely addition to the festival and a lighter way of starting conversations about the EU led by its future.
Power hopes to get more young people engaged with European initiatives: “We want to explain the European story, because this is the future, and it needs to be understood for people to participate in it.”
He believes the garden will help to demystify the EU with Ireland’s presidency, commencing in July:
“I hope it will give us a moment to reflect on where we’ve come from, where we’re going, and how the European Union isn’t an alien institution in Brussels.”
After a preview day on Wednesday, Bloom officially begins today with thousands expected to attend over the long weekend. Other show gardens include Myeloma Ireland’s ‘rooted in resilience’ launched by Derbhla Mescal, and Met Éireann’s 90th anniversary: past, present and future garden.
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