This year marks the first Bloom! festival, which is here to celebrate 250 years of horticulture in York. The city has been transformed into a floral wonderland from today until Sunday, with floral installations, events and activities around every corner.
I picked up a brochure for the inaugural festival at Harrogate Flower Show earlier this year, and couldn’t wait to see what the event had in store. If you don’t already have a brochure you can pick one up in York station or download one from the Bloom! website.
I picked out a couple of events in advance to make sure I had time to fit everything in, but was sure not to get overly attached to my pre-planned timetable and took the day at an easy pace.
The Grand Hotel was my first stop so I could check out the Bishop Burton College installation. The students created giant Bloom! lettering for the side of the hotel and it looked absolutely fantastic.
On my way into the city I stopped at the iconic Ivy restaurant. Locals and tourists alike flock to take pictures of the various Ivy venues, especially during Spring and Summer when the flowers are out in full force. The Ivy had been dressed up specifically for the Bloom! festival and there were lots of people taking photos and admiring the front of it.
St Helens square is always buzzing with activity, and for Bloom! the square was even busier. Two artists had created floral outfits and were walking around on stilts – they looked amazing!
A wander around the museum gardens led me to the Minature Magic Gardens Competition, where lots of schools had come together to create lovely displays in wheelbarrows. The kids all did a great job!
There’s a mixture of free and paid for events over the whole weekend, so be sure to book on to the paid events well in advance to avoid disappointment!
(These cute umbrellas are down by the Jorvik centre!)
If you need any help on the day, there’s lots of helpful Bloom! team members in pink tees around the city. They’re all super lovely and can give you really great advice depending on your interests.
I’d love to hear about your experience st Bloom! – let me know all about your days in the comments.
