Out Of Office: Laura Douglas, head of Bord Bia Bloom and brand partnerships
7am I get up and have a pint of warm water with a squeeze of lemon. This is a sleep-in, as I normally get up at 5:30am or 6am during the week.
I head out to the garden barefoot for some earthing, stretching and meditation. It’s a habit I’ve been doing for years. I know it sounds very hippy dippy, but it grounds me.
Life is so busy working full time with three young kids. It helps me feel calm, connected and focussed for the day ahead. The sun is out and the birds are singing, it’s bliss.
8am I make a cup of herbal tea and do some housework. I hang some laundry, clean the kitchen and do some washing. I reply to texts from our show garden manager, Kerrie, about Bord Bia Bloom.
9:30am The three girls (Anna, 15, Isabelle, 13, Chloe, 8) get up. They join me in the garden where I'm watering the plants. My youngest daughter takes photos of the plants using the PictureThis app and discovers our olive tree is sick. The app recommends we spray the leaves with baking soda and water, so that’s what we do.
10:30am I make smoothies for everyone for breakfast and we have them outside in the garden to make the most of the weather.
I live in Sandymount so normally go to Herbert Park or the beach to walk our dog, but today I want to check in on the Bloom show gardens so I go to Phoenix Park with Poppy, our four year old cavapoo. The build started at the end of April but it's crunch time now with only two weeks to go. The shows gardens are well underway and most of the marquees including the Nursery Village, Food Village and Grand Pavilion are up.
1:30pm I come back home and make lunch. We snack on chopped carrots, peppers and celery with hummus. I make red lentil burgers and we have that with a salad and some sauerkraut. Anna and Isabelle make lunch and dinner often. They are great chefs, which is very handy.
[LD1] 2:30pm I help Chloe create a slip and slide water course for her to play on. I get a few gymnastics mats and put them in a row leading to a slide into a paddling pool filled up with water. We put the hose and some washing-up liquid on it.
3pm I help the other two with school work. Anna completes her Junior Cert profile of achievement form, which is due in. I test Isabelle on her Spanish as she has exams coming up and spent the morning studying.
4:30pm I go for a walk along Sandymount Beach with Poppy and Chloe to get a sorbet in Scoop.
6:30pm The older two head out to meet friends and have pizza. My husband takes Chloe out for dinner with another friend and his daughter. I have some broccoli, sweet potato wedges and salad.
7pm I get a few hours of work done guilt free. I wouldn't normally work weekends but in the run up to Bloom, I do.
Laura Douglas is preparing for this year's Bord Bia Bloom festival
9pm Everyone comes back home. I shut down the laptop. I put Chloe to bed and catch up with the others downstairs while having a chamomile tea, which is something I always have before bed.
11pm I get into bed and do a short meditation before I go to sleep to clear my mind.
Bord Bia Bloom is a five-day celebration of gardening, food and sustainable living, over the June bank holiday weekend in the Phoenix Park. Tickets are priced from €25 up to €30 for full price adult, available on: www.bordbiabloom.com
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