(12) HOME GROWN (New series, programme six of seven)
Wednesday March 20th 2024
RTÉ One
8.30pm
Home Grown returns to RTÉ One this Spring with a second run of the popular seven- part series celebrating Irish horticulture.
Industry advocates and presenters Kitty Scully and Colm O’Driscoll once againtravel around Ireland in search of stories celebrating Irish Horticulture and exploring our increasing interest in growing our own vegetables and plants.
Gardening activity surged during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in a growth in spend by consumers to circa 1.5 billion euro in 2021 (IPSOS Bord Bia Value of the Garden Market study 2021), and a whole new cohort of new and returning gardeners.
Home Grown series 2 sees Kitty and Colm meeting people involved in greening public spaces, growing exotic mushrooms, community gardening initiatives, outdoor salad leaf production, restoring historic gardens, and learning how bees play a vital and integral role in large scale fruit production.
Other stories include visiting an amazing sensory garden developed for health and wellbeing, following the young designer who won the Cultivating Talent competition on his first foray into designing and building a show garden at Bord Bia Bloom 2023; and meeting with a new, innovative generation of growers, and finding out how social media influencers are inspiring a new generation into gardening.
Programme Six:
Garden centres located in the centre of towns and cities are sadly becoming rarer, so it was a pleasure for Colm to visit one of them in south county Dublin. Windyridge Garden Centre in Dun Laoghaire is now a third-generation enterprise, and their story as a local urban garden centre deserves to be celebrated.
Kitty headed off to Ireland’s premier horticulture event, Bord Bia BLOOM, last Summer to see how one young designer established himself in the small world of garden design. Joe Eustace, from Newbridge in County Kildare, has become a rising star in the past year as the winner of the Bord Bia Bloom Cultivating Talent Competition, and Kitty wanted to find out if the 21-year-old also managed to win a coveted medal for his design.
Kitty is heading to Meath to get another perspective on horticulture. Lynsay Orton is a visionary grower who grows vegetables exclusively for the food services and chefs. A lesser recognised part of the food chain, perhaps, but Lynsay’s passion and skill helps others to create culinary masterpieces.
Garden-to-Plate, or Farm-to-Fork, are more than just slogans. The kitchen garden at Parknasilla House in Co Kerry really does supply the hotel’s restaurant with as much fruit and vegetables as it can, even when the weather is less than perfect.
Colm goes to Kerry to see how a Kitchen Garden operates at a hotel, even when the weather is less than favourable.
Colm, Head Gardener in Lismore Castle Gardens in Waterford says:
“Once again it was a privilege to meet some of the industry leaders and get an insight into the hard work, determination, and innovation that it takes to succeed in this sector.
“It was encouraging to see the huge role environmental sustainability plays across all sectors of horticulture and its importance to all of the enterprises we met.
The adoption of new technology was also apparent across the sector as companies strive for innovation and efficiencies that enable them to compete on a global scale.
“Horticulture has struggled to attract young people into the industry but by embracing technology and improving the environmental credentials of the industry I believe it can become a more attractive proposition to future generations. It was also really encouraging to visit smaller enterprises that identified niches in the horticultural market and are thriving by growing for these very specific markets.”
Kitty, Head Grower on a private estate says:
“Last year was a really challenging growing season with unprecedented levels of rainfall in March, followed by drought before a wet and cold July/August.
“It was worrisome but yet inspiring to witness first hand the resilience and determination of growers as they navigate our ever changing climate, and reiterated the importance of buying Irish when it comes to plants, produce and inputs.
‘Chatting with growers across the country it became clear that climate was not the only challenge facing growers in 2023. Coupled with ever increasing input costs and vulnerable supply chains, the struggle to maintain viability and stay in business was real. It was encouraging to see some growers respond with a focus on shortening supply chains, which in turn boosts local economy and reduces carbon emissions. The capacity of growers to rethink, reimagine, adapt and act in times of crisis never fails to amaze me.”
Director Mark Boland
Home Grown is produced by InProduction TV & Scéal Creative Ltd. and is sponsored by Bord Bia
Press enquiries:
TVPR
Pauline Cronin
087 2629967
Kitty Scully, Bio 2024
Kitty Scully is a well-known organic gardener and local food advocate. Growing up on a mixed organic farm in Co Laois, she picked up a love of eating and growing good food at a young age. She nurtured this inherent passion with a formal education and by working on organic farms and gardens around the world. An MSc in Organic Horticulture is her highest paper accolade, but her practical achievements go far beyond. Kitty has had a diverse career in horticulture to date – from managing a market garden for nuns in North Cork, to spearheading the evolution of the kitchen gardens in Airfield Estate; writing for national papers and co-presenting garden shows on RTE, ‘Home Grown’ being her most recent.
She currently writes for The Irish Garden Magazine, co-ordinates the Organic Growers of Ireland Network and is Head Grower on a private estate.
Kitty is a natural communicator who regularly gives talks, lectures, and teaches workshops on gardening using organic methods. Kitty’s energy and enthusiasm for growing, learning, and talking about all things soil based is endless.
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Colm O’Driscoll
A dedicated exponent of organic horticulture and craft gardening, Kildare born Colm O Driscoll spearheaded the transformation of the gardens in Airfield Estate in Dundrum from part building site to one of Ireland’s must-see gardens. Colm has since moved to Waterford, where he is Head of Gardens in Lismore Castle Gardens.
A Graduate of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland Colm has enjoyed a diverse career gaining experience in many sectors of the horticultural industry including, landscape, retail, nursery stock, and organic food production.
Colm strives to innovate and introduce new and exciting plants while adopting sustainable methodologies, an endeavour that is clearly seen from his regular contributions to The Irish Garden magazine, and through his lectures and workshops. Colm has an insatiable appetite for all things horticulture, and he can regularly be found indulging in a busman’s holiday visiting various gardens.