Gardening Expert Dermot O'Neill with Model Sarah McGovern with Michal Slwaski (Bord Bia), Fergal Doyle (Arboretum) and Keelan Bourke (Retail Excellence Ireland), at the launch of GroMor 2018 the campaign that encourages everyone to visit their local garden centre and get growing this summer.

Gardening expert Dermot O’Neill joined model and mother of two Sarah McGovern with her children Jude (6 years) and Robyn Vaughan (4 years) in Merrion Square, Dublin 2 on Monday, 30th April ahead of Lá Bealtaine 1st May which officially marks the start of summer, to launch GroMór 2018, a nationwide campaign aimed at encouraging everyone to visit their local garden centres and get growing,  

GroMór is an initiative by Retail Excellence Ireland in association with Bord Bia and nursery growers, promoting its 75 local garden centres and nurseries located across the country. These centres are available to offer free expert advice to people in all age groups, from novices and new homeowners to experienced gardeners. Find out how to best grow plants, herbs, flowers, fruits, vegetables, whether it be on a windowsill, balcony or in a garden. Also, discover the health benefits associated with gardening or how to introduce the wonder of nature to children www.gromor.ie.

This year’s campaign highlights the benefits of growing plants, flowers and foods focusing on four distinct areas:

Health & Wellbeing
Gardening can help release the daily stress and contribute to overall health and wellbeing. Summer is the perfect time to take up a new healthy hobby.  Plan out your balcony or garden and get growing for a wonderful sense of achievement. GroMór is promoting the Birds and Bees campaign and how to attract more wildlife into your garden and create a holistic environment.  

Enhance Your Home
The garden can become an extension of your home, a room outside for the family to enjoy. GroMór gives plenty of tips on how to liven up your living areas with plants and features as well as colourful options to brighten up your balconies and gardens.

The Family Garden
The garden is a space for all the family to enjoy. Whether it’s teaching young children about nature as they watch a seed grow into a flower or creating a haven for your family to enjoy barbecues and long summer days.

Growing your own food
Growing your own plants to eat and enjoy has never been so popular. Fruit, vegetables and herbs can be grown in containers or in planting beds. The mouthwatering flavours of homegrown plants will always be remembered.

Sarah McGovern with her son Jude Vaughan(6 years old) and daughter Robyn Vaughan (4 years old ) pictured  as they launched  GroMór 2018 in Merrion Square, Dublin  ahead of  Lá Bealtaine 1st May which officially marks the start of summer.  GroMór 2018, a nationwide campaign is aimed at encouraging everyone to visit their local garden centres and get growing. Pic Brian McEvoy
Sarah McGovern with her son Jude Vaughan(6 years old) and daughter Robyn Vaughan (4 years old ) pictured as they launched GroMór 2018 in Merrion Square, Dublin ahead of Lá Bealtaine 1st May which officially marks the start of summer. Pic Brian McEvoy

GroMór 2018 Ambassador Dermot O’Neill; “Having a garden always encourages you to be outside to enjoy its beauty, having a place to sit and relax helps you feel well and be in contact with nature. It’s a place to watch garden birds visiting and seasonal insects like butterflies, which bring an added beauty to your garden. This can help you release your daily stresses and contribute to your overall health and wellbeing.”

“Gardening is easy and by understanding some of the basics you can help to improve your lifestyle. If you have a new home, the garden can easily be made into an extension of how you live – a place to enjoy, a place for children to play, a place to grow your own fruit and vegetables, somewhere to relax and enjoy. Creating a family garden is a place where everyone can get involved from the very young to the elderly. A garden can be a place of memories, a place of fun and enjoyment. It’s somewhere to commemorate special events, birthdays or anniversaries and to create and make magical moments.

There are 75 GroMór garden centres and nurseries located all over the country offering fantastic ranges of everything you may like to grow. These centres have qualified staff to help answer your gardening questions and they take pride in everything they sell and advise on all things gardening. They are happy to help you identify a plant and many will help you develop a plan that will help with your lifestyle and family needs.”

For those looking for advice, the website www.gromor.ie contains easy to follow guides and videos on how to grow flowers, plants, herbs, trees and vegetables. GroMór 2018 is sponsored by Bord na Móna and Westland Horticulture. For a taste of what you can expect in a GroMór Centre near you visit www.gromor.ie.

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