A BLOOMING GREAT DAY

Our pick of the bunch for gardening festival

- BY KEITH FALKINER

IRELAND'S festival of flowers and food returns this weekend, taking over Dublin's Phoenix Park.

An estimated 100,000 festival-goers will attend the gardening gathering over five days, starting this Thursday.

Now in its 19th year, it's become one of the summer's biggest events, with glorious gardens, fabulous food and stars like chef Neven Maguire and Diarmuid Gavin there to show off their skills and share tips.

More than 300 live performances take place over its run from May 29 to June 2.

For those heading to it, here's the Top Ten things to see and do at Bloom.

Bloom's spectacular Show Gardens: As the centrepiece of Bord Bia Bloom, the 21 Show Gardens will again be a hive of activity.

Look out also for Bloom's Postcard Gardens, which are built in one day by community groups and schools.